The Life of Yue Ying
by Sole Destiny
Summary: Yue Ying was born and raised on a small farm by her father. Despite her poor background, she married the renowned strategist, Zhuge Liang. Follow her, from the time she meets her future husband until her death. This is the story of her life... (ZLxYY)
1. Prologue

Hiya! I thought I'd try to write a new story. Dunno how it'll turn out. Anyway, this is a fictional story about the life of Yue Ying. I'm not sure how long it'll go on because I doubt I'll keep it going till she dies, unless I kill her in a battle or something. We'll see what happens. I'm not to sure where this is going myself at the moment, heh.

Note: This is totally fictional, of course. So what happens in my story definitely never happened in history and most parts probably didn't happen in the game.

Disclaimer: I do not own Koei or their characters.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PROLOGUE START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yue Ying had been born on a small farm in southern China. Her father was Huang Chen Yan and her mother was Li Mei (made-up name). Unfortunately, her mother had died when she was still an infant, so she had no recollection of her. She was an only child and had to help her father on the farm, seeing as he had no one else to help him. She also had no female relatives nearby and because of this, she had no one to teach her how a lady should act. Her father did teach her a bit, of course, but not as much as a woman would have taught her.

Though Ying was a farmer's child, she had grown to love knowledge and often dreamed of one day becoming a great hero remembered through the ages. After finishing her chores on the farm, she would often go out into a field and swing around a scythe she had made improvements on. If she was able to get her hands on a book, she would study it as thoroughly as possible.

Most people in the nearby village began to think of Ying as strange. She was of marrying age, but was not married and as far as they knew, no one had even asked. She wasn't exactly beautiful, but she was still attractive. Even the ugliest girl in the village had found a husband, why had Ying not? Because of the things she did. It was pretty common for women to study astronomy and history, uncommon for them to study magic, and very uncommon to study war. Not to mention the fact that she liked to practice martial arts and her skills with the scythe. Despite this, she was still well-behaved, polite, and could act like a lady when she wanted.

A few people in the village supported her and encouraged her. They could see that she was very talented and could become someone great one day. These people began to spread word of her to other villages, and those to other villages, and so forth. As strange as it may a seem, a few men heard of her intelligence and decided to investigate. They had heard of how intelligent she was, it seemed like she was much more intelligent then them, and she was still quite beautiful. They could use this to their advantage. They began to visit the farm her father owned and ask for her hand in marriage. However, she saw through them and refused. Her father wanted only the best for her, so he allowed her to make her own decisions about these things.

Ying didn't want to marry someone who would take advantage of her capabilities, so she began to spread rumors about herself. She would disguise herself and converse with the villagers, telling them that Yue Ying, Huang Chen Yan's daughter, was hideous, but she was very intelligent and knew much about astronomy, magic, and war. She was pure hearted and only wanted to use her skills for good. It was a bit hard for her to say this about herself, but she only wanted to marry someone who respected her intelligence and not take her ideas as their own. Someone who would use her skills for good and not care about beauty.

And so this spread even further then the first round had. Many heard of Yue Ying, and many of the men who had tried to ask for her hand had stopped coming due to the fact that she was said to be ugly. But there was one man who had heard of her. In fact, this man had grown up in the same village as her, until his parent's died and he moved to live with his uncle. He knew that these rumors being spread were only partly true. She was indeed very skilled, but far from being hideous. And even if she was, why would he care? He was searching for a woman who would appreciate his intelligence and have some of her own. He didn't want some air head who knew nothing and that he would probably waste all his money on to satisfy her wants. Who was this man? The Sleeping Dragon, Zhuge Liang.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PROLOGUE END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I know it's short, and probably totally boring and confusing. But this is just the prologue, know? Hopefully I can make the chapters longer and not as boring later on. Cause in the other chapters it won't be explaining as much and people will actually be talking! Yeah! Okay, I gotta go take a shower, do all my homework, and study for three tests in like 2 hours, so I gots to go.


	2. Chapter 1: Yue Ying and Zhuge Liang Meet

Hiya! Thanks for the reviews. Anyway, sorry about Chapter 1. Forgot to use spell check.

Notes on this chapter:

1. This chapter is based on Zhuge Liang's Legend in Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends. I spent 40 minutes writing down notes from it.

2. There were 3 other guys in the stage trying to win Yue Ying's respect, but I only included 2 of them.

3. You have to fight Yue Ying 7 times, but I only included 4 times.

4. People may be out of character? Been awhile since I've played...

5. Added some more magic then from what's in the game. Zhuge Liang can create shields and can levitate a few inches.

6. I suck at battle scenes, so sorry if they're bad. May have made it appear like it was too easy for Zhuge Liang to kill the generals, which it is if he's leveled up a bunch.

7. Zhuge Liang's more of the main character in this chapter.

8. Since they haven't joined Shu yet, let's say Yue Ying is still inexperienced but will become much better and learn a lot more later on.

9. Huang Chen Yan was a man of repute in the game. Farmer in my version. How he got a battlefield and guards, I don't know. Use your imagination. Maybe Yue Ying built the battlefield herself and somehow created the guards since she knows magic? Just a suggestion of what you could think if you wanted.

Disclaimer: I do not own Koei or their characters. (specifically Dynasty Warriors 4: Xtreme Legends in this chapter)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 1 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Huang Chen Yan knew of what his daughter wished and decided to invite a few men of importance to come so she could test them. He had heard of the brilliant young man named Zhuge Liang that lived in his region, so he invited him as well. Now, of course Zhuge Liang had heard rumors of Yue Ying before and he had thought of visiting, so this invitation gave him an excuse to satisfy his curiosity. He arrived at the farm on the designated date and was greeted by a man.

"Good afternoon, Lord Zhuge Liang. I am Huang Chen Yan, Yue Ying's father," he said and shook hands with Zhuge Liang. "I suppose you came to meet her?"

"Yes, I have heard rumors of her skills and decided to investigate. I have also heard that she is searching for a suitable husband, is this correct?" Huang Chen Yan nodded.

"That is true. I have heard of your skills, Lord Zhuge Liang, and you seem to be the type of man she is looking for. If you wish to be her husband, then she will have to test you along with the other three (remember, I only included 2) men who have also come for that reason."

"Is that so? And what exactly must I do?"

"You must defeat Yue Ying in battle until you have earned her respect. She does have some guards with her as well. Come, I will show you the way." said Huang Chen Yan and he motioned for Zhuge Liang to follow.

x-x-x

After reaching the area, a woman carrying a scythe appeared accompanied by a few women guards. Zhuge Liang studied her. Her face was indeed plain, but not hideous. She wore armor from head to toe, literally.

"I assume you are Lady Yue Ying, then?" he asked. The woman nodded.

"And I assume you have come to ask for my hand in marriage?" He nodded. "If you wish to be my husband, then I must insist on testing your mettle!" she said and raised her weapon. The guards around her did the same.

"I see... so be it, then," said Zhuge Liang. He lifted his war fan and gently fanned himself with it. Yue Ying tilted her head to the side.

"Your weapon is a fan?"

"Yes. Do you find that surprising?" Ying laughed.

"This should be easy."

"You should not underestimate your enemy. It has often enough proven the demise of many a great warrior in the past."

"We shall see... Come forth!" she called and charged at him. Liang levitated himself off the ground and swiftly dodged the attack. The guards also charged and he easily dodged them as well.

"These guards could become a nuisance..." He said to himself and began to mutter an incantation. He moved his hand around in a pattern and then pointed at the guards, who, in turn, fell down to the ground. Yue Ying gasped.

"What did you do to them?"

"Just a mild paralyzation spell. They'll regain the ability to move in a few moments." he answered as he dodged her attacks again. His feet then returned to the ground and he quickly hit her with his fan two times, followed by a spell that knocked her backwards. Unexpecting this assault, she was easily defeated.

"I see... your skills are quite impressive." said Yue Ying and she and her guards left the battlefield to recuperate. Zhuge Liang watched her leave while fanning himself. He then continued walking down the battlefield towards the end of the area.

x-x-x

After walking for a few minutes, he was confronted by Ma Dai, who was one of the other men trying to earn Yue Ying's respect, and his troops.

"It was I who saw the maiden first!" said Ma Dai and he and his troops charged at Zhuge Liang, who created a shield around himself.

"The only person she belongs to is herself. Only she can decide who she wishes to be with." he said and removed the shield. He muttered an incantation and paralyzed the troops again. He then swiftly defeated Ma Dai by shooting three magic beams at him. Suffering a defeat, Ma Dai and his troops retreated. Zhuge Liang was again left alone. He continued down the road to the end of the area.

x-x-x

A quarter of a mile along the way, Yue Ying and her guards appeared mounted on horses.

"Now! Show me the extent of your true power!" she said as she and her guards galloped towards him at full speed. Zhuge Liang fanned himself,

"Horses? This would normally be quite a challenge... unless I did this." He fired his musou attack and aimed them at those riding on the horses. They were knocked off, the guards being instantly killed. Yue Ying stood up and charged at Zhuge Liang. She had already taken quite a lot of damage from him musou attack, so all he had to do was dodge her attack and hit her once with his fan.

"Incredible... I have never seen such strength..." said Yue Ying as she retreated once again.

x-x-x

As Zhuge Liang continued his walk, he was confronted by Fa Zheng, another man who was also looking to marry Yue Ying, and his troops.

"She belongs to me!" Fa Zheng said and charged at Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang did his paralyzation trick again on the troops and fired a beam at Fa Zheng to knock him off his horse. Fa Zheng charged again, but Zhuge Liang levitated and easily dodged. He followed this up by hitting his opponent three times with his fan, defeating him. Fa Zheng and his troops limped off the battlefield.

x-x-x

Yue Ying and her guards were once again back on the battlefield waiting for Zhuge Liang.

"You shall now see the full extent of my power!" she called when she saw him coming. Zhuge Liang looked around. There were more guards than normal, and a few bombardiers. As one started to throw a bomb at him, he muttered another incantation and caused the bomb to blow up in the guy's hand, killing him. He did the same to the other bombardiers, while dodging the attacks of the guards and Yue Ying. The explosions occasionally killed off a few of the guards surrounding it, cutting their numbers down to about half. He muttered his paralyzation spell and paralyzed the remaining ones. Yue Ying, who had taken quite a lot damage from the bombs as well, charged at him when his back was turned and managed to hit him two times and knocked him down.

'Yes! That's the first time I've hit him!' she thought. Zhuge Liang stood up. He brushed himself off and straightened his robes.

"That was not very fair, hitting someone with their back turned. You need to study more about the honorable way to fight. I can lend you some books if you wish..."

"Humph!" Ying ran at him again, but he dodged and hit her with his fan. Seeing as she had taken a lot of damage from the bombs, this hit caused another win for Zhuge Liang.

"Impossible! I am... not good enough?" said Ying in disbelief as she and her remaining guards retreated.

x-x-x

Ying and her guards were now waiting at the end of the battlefield. With her were a few of her Tiger Tanks, which were also called Juggernauts. They waited for Zhuge Liang to come, which normally wouldn't have taken long seeing as they had last battled him at the foot of the stairs. He seemed to walk two times slower than normal people when he wasn't in a hurry. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally showed up.

"This is the final round! Come forth!" called Yue Ying. He stopped and looked around at the Juggernauts.

"What exactly are these?" He asked.

"They are called Tiger Tanks, or Juggernauts. I invented them myself. They follow the general they are under and can spit fire at the enemies."

"I see... These could be proven to be useful in battle, you know - "

"Enough talking! Let us get this over with! I shall not lose again!" Yue Ying, the guards, and the Juggernauts began to move towards him. Zhuge Liang fanned himself and watched for a few seconds. He then used his musou attack again, taking out all but three of the Juggernauts and three of the five guards were killed. He didn't manage to hit Yue Ying, but she had taken a small amount of damage when one of the remaining guards was knocked into her by the blasts. He started to fan himself as Yue Ying and the two guards got off the ground and watched the three Juggernauts roll towards him.

"Let us see what these things are capable off..." said Zhuge Liang, talking to himself. When the Juggernauts stopped moving, he created a shield and allowed himself to be hit by the flames. "Yes... I do believe these could be very useful in battle. You did a very good job of making them." He said to Yue Ying.

"Uh... Thank you. Now, let us continue!" she answered. Zhuge Liang broke the shield and took out the Juggernauts with a few of his magic blasts, and also took out the other two guards. He hadn't really meant to shoot them, but they had gotten in the way of the blasts when he was trying to hit the Juggernauts. He turned to Yue Ying and swiftly dodged the attack that was headed for his head.

"Once again, attacking someone with their back turned." He threw his fan at her and it spun around a few times. She dodged it, but she was keeping such a close eye on it that she didn't realize that it was an illusion. Zhuge Liang still had his real fan in his hand and hit her three times, followed by a sort of twirl that caused blue magic to swirl around him and hit her. This caused a lot of damage and Yue Ying had hardly any life left.

"I thought you said it was not honorable to attack someone whose back was turned?"

"But your back was not turned. You were facing me the entire time. I am afraid I will have to end this little spat now." he said and shot a magic beam at her. She was too tired to dodge it and was hit. This depleted all her health. Yue Ying had been defeated for the seventh (remember, I only included 4 times in this chapter) time. Zhuge Liang stood as he always did and fanned himself. She stood up and walked over to him.

"I have been defeated," she said and kneeled down. "Lord Zhuge Liang, I shall now be your servant." He shook his head and kneeled down as well.

"No. I do not wish for you to be my servant, Yue Ying." He offered her his hand. "Just walk alongside me, as my wife." Yue Ying looked at his hand and put hers in his. "The two of us shall soar together to the heavens," he continued as they both stood up.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 1 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hm... not to sure if this was a good chapter. But then again, I always think what I write is bad. Guess I'll leave it up to the readers to decide if they thought it was good or bad.

Yeah! Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires is out!. But when my mom went to go see if they had it, the guy there said it was sold out. But he also said it was an old game, so he must've not caught the Empires part. -mutters something about idiots- Watch me go there tomorrow and they had it all along. But I probably won't be able to go again till like Friday or Saturday.


	3. Chapter 2: The Three Visits

Thanks for the reviews! Might change the title? I don't know. Looks like Zhuge Liang will be in it almost as much as Yue Ying, so... A lot from the novel in this chapter. Maybe a little from the game ROTKVIII. Not much info in the game about when Zhuge Liang joins Shu. Most of this is probably _a lot_ like the novel. Especially the end part. I couldn't translate some of the things into simpler terms, so it sounds all... textbooky. This chapter may be confusing if you haven't read the chapters in the novel about Zhuge Liang. I'll try to explain some things. May be confusing even if you have read them...I dunno.

Disclaimer: I do not own Koei or their characters. Or Romance of the Three Kingdoms, novel and game.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 2 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been a year since Yue Ying had married Zhuge Liang. They now lived near Xiang Yang on a farm that Liang and his brother, Zhuge Jun, ran. During this time, Ying learned much from the things Liang taught her and from the books he had. Her fighting skills had improved greatly as well and she could now easily beat Liang in a duel. One day, as she was outside training, Pang Tong rode up on his old donkey, Daisy.

"Hey! Where's the hermit at?"

"I think he went fishing today with Master Cui Zhou Ping," answered Ying.

"Fishing? Why does he always go fishing? I can't stand just standing by a river or pond for hours on end watching a line. You almost never catch anything either."

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Ah... Well, tell him I stopped by the next time you see him. Bye bye!" waved Pang Tong and continued on down the road to the city.

x-x-x

An hour after Pang Tong had stopped by, Zhuge Liang appeared walking down the road towards his home, carrying his fishing pole, a bucket of worms he had dug up earlier, and another bucket containing the few fish he had caught. Yue Ying was still outside training when he returned.

"Master Liang! You have just missed Lord Pang Tong. He came by about an hour ago."

"Did he? What did he want?"

"He did not say. He just told me to tell you that he stopped by."

"Very well. I will see what it is he wants tomorrow then. I have caught enough fish for supper tonight, so I will go and start to prepare it." Ying smiled and nodded, though after he walked by her, she grimaced. They had had fish for supper every night since she had been here or at least the nights Liang was there. He occasionally left to go who knows where and stayed gone for different periods of time.

x-x-x

The next morning, Yue Ying was outside feeding the chickens. As she was doing so, Zhuge Liang walked out of the house and into the stables. When he came out, he was leading his donkey, Burro.

"I am going to visit Pang Tong. I should be back by lunchtime," he told Ying, who nodded. Just as he mounted, a horse came galloping up the road and stopped in their yard. The man riding it dismounted and walked a few steps towards Zhuge Liang, who turned his donkey towards the man to look at him and asked,

"Xu Shu? Why are you here?"

"Zhuge Liang! I must hurry, but I must tell you something before I go. I have been serving under Lord Liu Bei, but my mother has been imprisoned by Cao Cao. To save her, I must serve under him. Before I left Liu Bei, I told him of you. He is in dire need of a warlord to held him achieve his goals. I expect he will be coming soon to ask for your help. I hope you will not refuse your aid and with consent to use your great talents to help him," replied Xu Shu. Yue Ying looked at Zhuge Liang. He looked quite annoyed at what this man had said.

"And so you have made me a victim of the world's sacrifice." Zhuge Liang turned his donkey and continued his journey to find Pang Tong. Xu Shu looked saddened at this, but didn't say anything. He remounted his horse and hastened to Cao Cao. Yue Ying had a look of confusion on her face. Why did Zhuge Liang sound annoyed at this? Didn't he want to use his talents to help the world?

'I suppose I will find out when this Lord Liu Bei comes...' she thought and threw a few more handfuls of food out for the chickens before going back into her house.

x-x-x

A few days later, Zhuge Liang had gone on one of his errands again. Yue Ying suspected this was mostly so that he had a better chance of missing Liu Bei's visit. She was outside in the stables brushing Burro. Zhuge Liang had left him behind this time and walked to wherever he was going, another way to make his trip longer and increase his chance of missing Liu Bei. As she was doing so, three men came up leading their horses. One walked up to the door of the house and knocked on the door. The boy Zhuge Liang had hired to help with the chores answered it.

"Hello, sir. What is it you want?" asked the boy. The man who had knocked on the door answered,

"I am Liu Bei, General of the Han Dynasty, Lord of Yi Cheng, Imperial Protector of Yu Zhou, and uncle of the Emperor. I have come to speak with Master Zhuge Liang."

"Umm... I cannot remember so many titles..."

"Then simply tell him that Liu Bei has come to speak with him."

"Master Liang left earlier this morning."

"He did? Where did he go? When will he be back?"

"I do not know. I am not even sure that his wife knows where he has gone or when he will be back." One of the men who had come with Liu Bei spoke up.

"Brother, I think we should return since he is not here. We do not know when he shall be back."

"You're right, Guan Yu. Let's go back," said Liu Bei. He turned to the boy and continued. "Please tell Master Liang that Liu Bei stopped by." The boy nodded and the three men left.

x-x-x

Ten days later, Zhuge Jun, who had been away on a few errands as well, had returned to the farm. Since he was back to take care of the farm, Zhuge Liang went off somewhere with Cui Zhou Ping. Yue Ying was inside the house sweeping the floors when a knock came at the door again. Zhuge Jun went to answer the door and she hid in the nearest room to eavesdrop.

"Hello, good sir. Might you be Master Zhuge Liang?" it was Liu Bei and his two companions again. Zhuge Jun shook his head.

"No, I am his younger brother, Zhuge Jun."

"Is your brother home?"

"No, he left only yesterday with Master Cui Zhou Ping."

"Where have they gone?"

"Who can say? They may take a boat and sail around the lakes, or go to gossip with the priests in some remote mountain temple, or wander off to visit a friend in some far away village, or be sitting in some cave with a lute or chessboard. Their goings and comings are uncertain and nobody can guess at them." Liu Bei sighed,

"What poor luck I have! I have failed to meet the master twice!"

"Brother, since the master is once again not here, might I suggest going back home?" asked the man Liu Bei had called Guan Yu before.

"Why don't we stay a bit longer?" said Liu Bei and turned back to Zhuge Jun. "Can you tell me if your brother is skilled in strategies and studies works on war?" Zhuge Jun hesitated before answering.

"I... do not know." It was obvious to Yue Ying that he was trying not to say to much about Zhuge Liang incase he wanted nothing to do with this Liu Bei. The other man with Liu Bei grumbled.

"The wind and snow is getting worse, brother. Let's go!"

"Perhaps we should, Zhang Fei." Liu Bei said and once again turned to Zhuge Jun. "I shall return in a few days. But may I borrow some ink and paper so I can leave a note for your brother?" Zhuge Jun nodded and produced the items he asked for. Liu Bei sat down and wrote his note. After finishing, he gave it to Zhuge Jun and went outside, followed by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Zhuge Jun also followed to see them off. Yue Ying crept out of the room she was hiding in and went to the window. She watched the men say their farewells before they left. This Liu Bei fellow must really want Zhuge Liang's help if they had come two times and even said they were coming again.

x-x-x

Three days after Liu Bei's second visit, Zhuge Liang had returned from his outing with Cui Zhou Ping. He was now taking a nap in one of the back rooms. Zhuge Jun was outside lazing around. It was winter, so there wasn't much work to be done, and the few things needed to be done had already been finished. Yue Ying had nothing to do either, so she had snuck a book out of the room Zhuge Liang was sleeping in and had gone into the front room to read. Awhile after she had started to read, she heard Zhuge Jun talking to someone. She once again crept to the window and looked out. Liu Bei and his two companions had returned.

"Is your brother home today?" asked Liu Bei.

"Indeed. He returned early this morning, but I'm afraid he is taking a nap at the moment. I can wake him if you wish," answered Zhuge Jun. Liu Bei shook his head,

"No, I will wait until he has awoken."

"Then why don't you come and wait inside? I'll prepare some tea for you while you wait." As the four men approached the door, Yue Ying grabbed the book she had been reading and ran into a nearby room so that she wouldn't be seen. She could most likely learn more about them from a distance.

x-x-x

An hour after Liu Bei arrived, Zhuge Jun went to go see if his brother had awakened yet. Apparently he had, either that or Zhuge Jun woke him up, because in a few moments Zhuge Liang came out of the room he had been in. Liu Bei stood up and bowed.

"Master Liang. I am Liu Bei. I have heard much of your talents and request your aid. Twice I have come to visit you, and failed. Once I left a note for you as well. You may have my note." Zhuge Liang nodded.

"From your letter, I know that you grieve for both people and government. If I were not so young and possessed any talent, I would venture to question you."

"Sima Hui and Xu Shu have both spoken of you. Can it be that their words were vain?

"The two men you speak of are profound scholars. I am but a peasant, a mere farmer. Who am I to talk of politics? These two misled you when they told you of me. Why do you reject a precious jewel for a worthless pebble?"

"But your abilities are marvelous. How can you be content to allow time to pass while you idle away life in these secluded haunts? Please, remember the inhabitants of the empire and remove my ignorance by bestowing upon me instruction," said Liu Bei. Zhuge Liang sat down and thought for a moment before asking,

"What is your ambition?"

"The Han is sinking. I am weak, but I desire to restore the state to its right mind. But my ignorance is too vast, my means are too slender, and I know not where to turn. Only you can lighten my darkness and preserve me from falling. Though I am of small repute and scanty virtue, I hope you will not despise me for me worthlessness, but will leave this retreat to help me. I will assuredly listen most reverently to your words."

"I have long been happy on my farm and am fond of my leisure. I fear I cannot obey your command," Zhuge Liang said. Liu Bei sighed.

"If you will not, what will become of the people?" he cried as a few tears rolled down his face. This had proven the sincerity of his desire. Zhuge Liang stood up and answered,

"Lord Liu Bei, if you will accept me, I will help you to achieve your desires." Liu Bei immediately stopped crying and became quite happy.

"I would be honored, Master Liang," he replied. Zhuge Liang nodded and looked towards the room Yue Ying was hiding in. She had been peeking around the corner of the door the entire time and couldn't pull back in enough time to escape from being seen by him. He motioned for her to come out. As she did so, he spoke to Liu Bei.

"Lord Liu Bei, I wish to introduce you to my wife, Yue Ying." Liu Bei turned and saw her. He bowed.

"Lady Yue Ying. It is a pleasure to meet you." Yue Ying returned the bow. Zhuge Liang had picked up his war fan from off a nearby table and had begun to fan himself.

"I wish to ask you something, my lord. Would you let her join you as well? I can give account for her abilities. She is very intelligent and studies the same things as I. She can also hold her own in battle, better than I can." Yue Ying looked surprised at this. She hadn't expected for him to ask for her to join as well. Liu Bei looked at her.

"Yes, she may join as well. If you say such things about her, then it must be true," he said and continued to watch her. Zhuge Liang motioned for her to speak. She bowed and said,

"Thank you, Lord Liu Bei. It is an honor to serve under you."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 2 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once again not sure if this was a good chapter or not. But, as I've said in my other story once, I don't really care what other people think. If I wanna write, I'll write. If I don't wanna write, I won't.


	4. Chapter 3: Battle of Bo Wang Po

Thanks for the reviews! Yeah, people didn't think the last chapter was confusing! And, this chapter may not be as good as others, I don't know. I say that all the time, but it's probably true this time. Didn't have much time to read over it either. Okay, I know that in the game it's called Bo Wan Po, but the novel says Bo Wang Po and I'm going with that.

Disclaimer: I do not own Koei or their characters. Or Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 3 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Everyone! Follow Zhuge Liang's orders for this battle!" called Liu Bei as he stood in front of his army. Cao Cao's army, being lead by Xiahou Dun, was attacking Liu Bei at Bo Wang Po. Liu Bei had been in the Jing province on the invitation of Liu Biao. He had started to recruit more troops and train them in Xinye. Seeing him as a threat, Cao Cao decided to wipe out Liu Bei and sent Xiahou Dun with one hundred thousand troops to take care him. Liu Bei's army numbered only about ten thousand, so he turned to Zhuge Liang to come up with a plan to defeat the advancing Wei army.

Liu Bei had no doubts that his warlord could do this, but his other officers were a bit skeptical, especially his sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. They had often complained about Zhuge Liang, saying he was too young and that he was being treated so well when they had not yet seen his abilities. Nonetheless, they decided to see how the warlord would fare in this battle, and how his strategies went. If it looked as though they were not working, matters would be taken into their own hands.

Earlier, in the war council, Zhuge Liang gave his orders to those present, and now was the time to carry out those orders. Each general took his troops and went to their positions to await the enemy. Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, and their troops were left in the main camp. Yue Ying and her ten guards were also there. She was a sub-general under Liang and had to lure the enemies into the traps. She also had to make sure the others followed their orders, though there wasn't much she could do if they didn't except report back to Bei and Liang.

Messengers from each general arrived back at the main camp once they had gotten into place. Zhuge Liang marked off the generals on a sheet of paper that he carried. After he checked off the last general, he turned to Yue Ying.

"All the generals are in position. Go now, Yue Ying. You know what it is you have to do," he said. Ying nodded and she and her guards mounted their horses. As they turned to leave, Liang silently wished for her to be careful.

x-x-x

The first task Yue Ying had was to lure an enemy unit into the fire attack, where they would then be greeted by Liu Feng's ambush. She and her guards rode down the path past Zhao Yun, who saluted as they went by, and stopped at the edge of the river to await the enemy.

After waiting for awhile, the dust thrown up by the horses and foot soldiers of the enemy became visible. Ying turned her horse sideways to look at her guards.

"Prepare yourselves! They will be here soon!" she ordered and the captain nodded.

"Yes, my lady," he said. He and the other guards pulled their swords from their scabbards as Ying readied her scythe. Another few moments and Xiahou Dun and his troops came into view.

'A woman and ten guards? This should be easy! Perhaps Liu Bei isn't that much of a threat after all...' thought Dun, and then called to Yue Ying,

"You have the honor of being my first victim!" and urged his horse to run faster.

"Umm... Maybe we should run now?" nervously asked one of Yue Ying's guards as he watched the attackers growing nearer by the second. Ying nodded.

"Retreat!" she yelled and the group turned tail and rode back towards Zhao Yun. Xiahou Dun laughed,

"Hah! Fleeing like a coward! Have you no shame?" and he and his unit pursued them down the path.

x-x-x

Once Yue Ying and her guards reached the area where Liu Feng was waiting to ambush the enemy, she gave the signal to be ready and continued down the path. She got to Zhao Yun and said,

"Xiahou Dun is approaching the ambush site." Zhao Yun nodded and waved to his troops to get ready to march to the site once the flames start.

A moment later, smoke and flames started to rise up from the trees and the sound of Liu Feng and Xiahou Dun's men yelling was heard. Zhao Yun looked at Ying.

"That's the signal, right?"

"Right," answered Ying and Zhao Yun, followed by his unit, raced off in the direction of the flames. First task completed, now for the second.

x-x-x

Back in the main camp, Zhuge Liang was waiting, looking towards the area that the fire should start at. Once he saw the smoke rising in the air, he smiled faintly. It appeared everything was going as planned so far. Once the enemy unit caught in the attack either retreated or was defeated, a messenger would arrive to say so. And so forth for the other ambushes he had planned.

x-x-x

Yue Ying and her guards were going down a path further north of the last ambush. She passed the area where Guan Ping was in wait and continued further down until she reached the river. There she stopped to wait for the next enemy unit to appear.

The group waited for awhile and soon the enemy was spotted. As the unit came nearer, Ying could see that it was Han Hao. When Han Hao saw the group, his thoughts were much like Xiahou Dun's.

"Your head is mine!" he yelled and pursued them as Yue Ying retreated. Like before, once she got to Guan Ping's hiding place, she gave a signal for them to be prepared and continued further up the path before stopping momentarily to make sure the ambush was a success. Once she knew it was, she pulled out a scroll to check that she knew what the next task was. She was to divert the enemy to the designated location so that the enemy wouldn't be alerted of Guan Yu's assault. Ying put the scroll away and led her guards to another position further north of where Guan Ping was.

x-x-x

Upon reaching the area where Guan Yu was hiding, Ying once again followed the path to the river to await the enemy. The second they arrived there, they had to turn back and run again, for the enemy was closer than she had expected.

"How unfortunate that you must face me in battle!" yelled Yu Jin from behind her. Ying tried to increase the speed of the retreat to give Guan Yu more time to prepare, but the enemy was right on their tails. She reached the area where Guan Yu was, and was surprised to find that he had already prepared his troops.

"Lurking in the shadows is more difficult than I expected... Now I shall show you my true power!" yelled Guan Yu as his troops burst out from the forest and attacked Yu Jin's unit. Seeing as she had no more tasks to complete besides to meet the rest of Liu Bei's army near the Wei supply base, Ying and her guards helped Guan Yu fight. With the two of them, the enemy unit was easily beaten, though Yu Jin and his remaining soldiers managed to escape somehow.

"So you prepared your troops when you first saw me go by to lure the enemy into the attack. I was afraid that you would not have been ready and the ambush would have been a failure." Ying said to Guan Yu, who laughed.

"You really think the God of War would be so foolish as to not have prepared his soldiers before the signal? Perhaps my son, Guan Ping, or my brother's son, Liu Feng, but not I! I have to much experience in battle to do so! Come, we need to continue onward to meet the others. It appears Zhang Fei has not yet done his part. He must have got caught up drinking again..." Ying looked towards the supply base, and indeed Zhang Fei had not done his part. He was supposed to have opened the gates and set the depot on fire when he saw the first sign of smoke coming from Liu Feng's ambush.

"Oh, I almost forgot. You there!" said Guan Yu as he pointed to one of his soldiers. "Go to the main camp and tell Zhuge Liang that the ambush was a success. Yu Jin's unit was defeated." The soldier bowed and ran off towards the main camp as the others went in the opposite direction towards the supply base.

x-x-x

After reaching the area before they had to cross the river, Guan Yu and Yue Ying found Zhao Yun, Liu Feng, and Guan Ping.

"Good. You two made it. Now we just have to wait for father and Zhuge Liang," said Liu Feng as the two rode up.

"Do any of you know why Zhang Fei hasn't done his part yet?" Guan Yu asked and the other generals shook their heads. Guan Yu sighed, "I suppose he's just late like he always is, then..."

x-x-x

After waiting for awhile, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, and their units came riding up.

"Good! Everyone is here!" said Liu Bei as he looked around at his officers. Zhuge Liang rode up to the edge of the river and looked towards the supply depot.

"Zhang Fei has not done his part... Where is he at?"

"You will have to forgive my brother, you do not know him very well yet. He is always late and is drunk half of the time you see him," Guan Yu explained. Zhuge Liang shook his head in annoyance.

"In that case, we will need someone to go find him and tell him to go do what he was supposed to do. We need to have the enemy in disarray before we attack them. Our forces are about equal. Many of the enemy troops retreated back to the base, though the only general there is Xiahou Dun as far as we know. Who is going?" asked Zhuge Liang as he turned to look at the officers. Ying was about to step forward, but before she could do so, Guan Yu did.

"Allow me to go and get my brother. I doubt anyone else could get him up and going." Liang nodded.

"In that case, take some of your horsemen with you. It would be hard to get an entire unit over there without the enemy noticing." And so off went Guan Yu, followed by about fifteen of his men to find Zhang Fei.

x-x-x

Apparently Guan Yu succeeded in finding Zhang Fei because smoke started to rise from the stronghold. The rest of the army, seeing this, crossed the river and headed to the supply base where the gates had been opened. Zhang Fei, his unit, Guan Yu, and his horsemen had already begun to fight the enemy and so did the others once they got there. With so many generals in one place, it didn't take long to clear out the enemy soldiers, not to mention the fact that a lot of them began to retreat because of the fire.

"What? I thought Xiahou Dun was supposed to be in here!" said Zhang Fei as he looked around. All of the enemy soldiers had either been killed or had retreated and no Xiahou Dun was to be seen. Zhuge Liang looked around and noticed a horse. It was no different from the others, except that it had the armor on it that a general's horse would wear.

"He must have escaped, pretending to be a mere foot solider," he said and motioned towards the horse the enemy general had left behind.

"How could he pretend to look like a foot solider? His clothes are completely different!" argued Zhang Fei.

"It is easy to not notice someone in the chaos of battle," answered Liang.

"No matter! We won, did we not?" Liu Bei asked and Zhang Fei laughed.

"Indeed, brother! Let's go celebrate with some wine!" Liu Bei's soldiers gathered up the supplies that hadn't been burned and the entire army began to march back to their own camp to celebrate. As they were leaving, Guan Yu rode up beside Zhuge Liang.

"I must admit, I underestimated you. You are quite a skilled, Master Liang."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 3 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End of the chapter. There ya have it.


	5. Chapter 4: Battle of Chang Ban

Thanks for the reviews! So far my goal has still been kept. My goal is to have 3 times the reviews as the chapters, so... yeah. I finished Bo Wang Po and added it to Chapter 3 since it was only like a paragraph or something. Sorry I didn't finish it last time. I was in a bad mood and didn't feel like writing all of it. I'm tired of writing battles... I'll try to figure out a way to put in more breaks between them... maybe.

Notes on this chapter:

1. Yes. River is Chang Jiang. So says game and novel (I think novel does)

2. Liu Qi was Liu Biao's son. Liu Biao died and Liu Qi took over as ruler.

3. Okay, Zhang Fei is going down the left instead of right. Zhao Yun needs some company. I take the right road, so he's all alone.

4. Like in the novel, Zhao Yun is protecting Liu Bei's son, Liu Chan, and his two wives, Lady Mi and Lady Gan.

5. West is the left road. East is the right road.

6. I left out Cao Cao's reinforcements, well not really... Cao Cao does show up at the end, but I just didn't feel like including all the other people who show up.

7. The child lord is Liu Chan. I don't really know how old he is, I'm just making up an age.

8. Yeah, in the novel Zhao Yun just charged through all the troops, but they're going to take the paths that have already been cleared in my version.

9. Oh my... horses seem to appear out of nowhere when you need them.

10. In the novel, Liu Bei doesn't really seem to give a care about his family, but I'm making him love his family now.

11. I think Sun Jian and Sun Ce are both dead by this time? But it doesn't really matter, I'm going with the game. Everyone stays alive and happy, until I say so otherwise...

Disclaimer: I do not own Koei or their characters. Or Romance of the Three Kingdoms since I'm using that to.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 4 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Seeing as Cao Cao was out to obliterate him and his army, Liu Bei was advised by Zhuge Liang to form an alliance with the Sun family. With both of the armies working together, there was no way Cao Cao could win. The only problem was getting to Wu. Cao Cao and his army would definitely try to stop them. Liu Bei and his army would have to pass through Chang Ban and cross the Chang Jiang River before they would be safe. Liu Bei had sent Guan Yu to ask Liu Qi to bring ships so they could cross earlier. There had been no word from them, so Zhuge Liang had gone a few days ago to see what was happening.

The army set out on its march. Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, who was charged with the protection of Liu Bei's family, were sent down the west road. Sun Qian and Yue Ying were sent down the east road. Liu Bei stayed in the area where their camp had been until a path had been cleared.

x-x-x

As Yue Ying and Sun Qian went down the path they were assigned, they were greeted by Xiahou Dun.

"You're challenging me knowing I'm Xiahou Dun?" he called as his horse galloped towards them. Ying, who had chosen not to ride a horse in this battle, ran forward and threw her scythe. It spun around in a circle, knocked the Wei general off his horse, and came back to its master. Dun stood up and growled,

"You'll pay for that, wench!" He charged at Ying and swiped at her with his sword. She dodged and hit him with the pole of her scythe, knocking him off balance. She took this moment to hit him a few times, but he recovered quicker then she expected and he managed to get in a few hits as well. Ying charged at him. Dun held up his sword in defense, only to find that his opponent had feigned attacked and had gotten behind him somehow. He whirled around, but was seconds to late. Ying had caught him off guard and easily defeated him.

"This won't happen next time!" the one-eyed general said before retreating.

x-x-x

Xiahou Dun had now been taken care of. Liu Bei began to move down the eastern path since the first area had been cleared of enemy generals. Sun Qian and Yue Ying continued down the path to find another Wei general.

"Who is that?" asked Yue Ying, pointing. Sun Qian looked at who she was talking about.

"I think that's the new general, Zhang He."

"Is he wearing... butterfly wings?"

"It would appear so."

"You cannot hope to match my elegance!" called out the general as he whipped his claws, causing them to whistle through the air.

"Maybe I cannot match your elegance, but I can certainly match your fighting skills!" Ying answered and charged at him. The agile Zhang He jumped out of the way and attacked. All of this happened faster than expected, so Ying was caught off guard and hit with the claws a few times. She swung her scythe at the Wei general as she was kneeling, so the attack was aimed upwards. He blocked the attack so she started to try and push him back, as with Xiahou Dun, and managed to do so. She broke the parry and threw Zhang He upwards since she had still been kneeling. Before he hit the ground, she repeatedly hit him with her scythe until she thought he had had enough. She stopped the attack and let him fall to the ground. After a moment he stood up and began to run away.

"There is a certain beauty in escape as well..." said the defeated general as he retreated with his wings flapping along with him.

x-x-x

By the time Zhang He had been defeated, Liu Bei had caught up with Yue Ying and Sun Qian. He looked as though something was troubling him.

"What is wrong, my lord?" asked Sun Qian.

"Zhang Fei has sent a messenger to me. It appears that Zhao Yun has betrayed us. He was seen riding towards the enemy lines." Liu Bei sighed.

"What? Why would Zhao Yun betray you? He seems so loyal..." said Ying in disbelief. She shook her head. "That can't be right! He must have had a reason to do so. Allow me to go investigate, my lord. I will see what he's doing and if he has indeed betrayed you, I will personally take care of him." Liu Bei looked down at her from on top of his horse.

"Fine. I will allow you to go." Ying bowed and started to run back up the path they had come down, seeing as it would be easier to follow a path that had already been cleared of enemies than clearing a path for herself.

"Yue Ying!" called Liu Bei. She stopped and turned around. "Make sure that my wives and son are safe as well." Ying bowed again and continued to run up the path.

x-x-x

Yue Ying found a horse along the way to make the trip faster and finally reached the area where Zhao Yun was said to have been seen riding. As she came near, she saw Zhao Yun kneeling beside a well and a group of enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Ying dismounted and quickly ran to take care of the enemies before calling to her fellow general.

"Zhao Yun!" He turned and looked at her. "What are you doing, Zhao Yun? Why did you betray Lord Liu Bei? Where is the child lord? Where are our lord's wives?"

"I did not betray Lord Liu Bei. I came to look for his family. They were lost along the way. Lady Gan was found among a group of peasants that was traveling with us. I put her on a horse and sent her and a group of my troops to join Zhang Fei's unit. Lady Gan told me she saw Lady Mi with the child lord coming this way, so I came to see. I indeed found Lady Mi, but she was wounded in the thigh and could not walk. She told me to take the child lord and leave her, but I would not do so. She heard the enemies that you just took care of coming towards us and threw the child lord at me before jumping into the well..." answered Zhao Yun, motioning to the well as he stood up holding the child, only about a year old. Yue Ying walked over to the well and peered over the edge. The inside was dried up, there wasn't any water in it, and, as Zhao Yun said, there was the lifeless form of Lady Mi at the bottom.

"Here," said Zhao Yun as he handed Liu Chan to Ying. "Stand back." She took the child and walked back over to the horse she had found. Yun walked behind the wall that was beside the well and pushed up against it. It toppled over and covered the mouth of the well, making a sort of grave for Lady Mi. Ying remounted her horse and tied the child to her so that he wouldn't fall off and so that he wouldn't be in the way in case she needed to use her scythe. She turned to Yun.

"Come. Let us go meet Lord Liu Bei." He nodded and mounted another horse that was found nearby, seeing as he gave his to Lady Gan. The two of them then made their way back along the cleared path to find Liu Bei and the others.

x-x-x

Yue Ying and Zhao Yun found their way to the Chang Jiang River and found that Liu Qi had succeeded in bringing ships for their escape.

"Zhao Yun!" called Liu Bei from one of the ships. Ying and Yun boarded the ship and walked up to him and bowed.

"Here is your son, Lord Liu Bei," said Yue Ying, as she lifted the child to show him. Liu Bei nodded and waved for an attendant to come and get him.

"There is my son, and Lady Gan came back with Zhang Fei. But where is Lady Mi, Zhao Yun?" Yun sighed.

"I'm sorry, my lord..." he began and told Liu Bei what had happened.

x-x-x

The ships set sail so that Cao Cao couldn't catch up with them and Zhao Yun completed telling his tale, a few moments of silence passing by afterwards. Liu Bei had his head hung, but he suddenly jerked it up and glared at the top of the hill. There was Cao Cao with his army behind him, glaring back.

"Curse you Cao Cao! You will pay for this!"

"Yes, all in due time, my lord," came a familiar voice. "We will surely defeat him with the aid of the Sun family." Ying looked over in the direction of where the voice came from. It was Zhuge Liang. She had somehow missed seeing him when she first got on the ship. He took a few steps closer and began to fan himself, as usual.

"How exactly do you know that Lord Sun Jian will agree to form an alliance with us? What if he turns us away?" asked Liu Bei.

"He will not. He cannot. Even his army alone cannot beat Cao Cao, who is looking to conquer the south. Come, my lord. Let us plan a speech for the meeting." and with that, Liang and Bei wandered off to some private room on the ship.

x-x-x

They reached the other side of the river sometime during the night, but waited until morning before disembarking. The army made camp half a mile from the river and Liu Bei prepared the generals he was going to take with him to the Wu capital. The others were going to stay in the camp so that he didn't go marching into the city with his entire army behind him. He took with him Zhuge Liang, of course, his brothers, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, Zhao Yun, and Yue Ying. Each general took with them two bodyguards and then they all set out for the capital.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 4 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Note: I removed The Shadows. I don't really feel like updating it anymore, and to tell the truth, I don't really like it. I have it saved on my computer, so if for some odd reason someone wants me to repost it, I will. I might even decide to finish it to if someone wants me to.


	6. Chapter 5: Alliance with Wu

Thanks for the reviews! Mucho sorryness for lack of updates. First, I got The Sims 2 and played that all during my free time. Second, my brother rented Fable and I've been playing that during my free time. So, yeah. I had writer's block when I was writing this, so it might not be very good. And I was listening to music and singing most of the time to, so I might not have been paying good attention. Lots of notes on the chapter, like usual. I like to try and explain some things about the story incase something doesn't make sense or for other things. My last story made no sense whatsoever because I didn't do that. But then again, that one was way weirder.

Okay, anyway, I need to know something. How many of you want Sun Shang Xiang to marry Liu Bei? I don't really like the pairing all that well, but if enough people want them to get married then I'll add it in next chapter, maybe... I don't know. They'll get married eventually if enough people want them to.

Notes on this chapter:

1. I wanted to take a break from battles, so I decided to write a chapter about Liu Bei being in Wu.

2. I made up most of this chapter. Maybe only one or two things in this chapter that's in the game or novel, though I'm not sure. I'm just saying that incase there is something from it.

3. Me thinks Liu Bei's army was called Shu by this time? No matter. If it wasn't, then it is now.

4. Yes. Sun Ce. The guy you would want to have around when you were talking politics, though he doesn't talk anyway.

5. "Of which all of the details would most likely bore you." - further down in story, Maybe not, but I don't really feel like typing up an entire conversation. I suck at politics anyway.

6. "and in others say they were immense" - Forgot the word I was thinking of. Had to look it up in a thesaurus and then choose which one I wanted to use, heh. So sorry if immense doesn't sound right when you read it.

7. Okay, don't really know if dazing off is appropriate, but that's what Liu Bei does.

8. -points to 7- Sort of the same thing with Yue Ying. Don't know if she would do that, but you gotta admit a lot of people would if they were bored and tired.

9. Don't know if there were such things as reserve castles, but there are now. I doubt the castle where Sun Jian stays at would be big enough for two armies...?

10. I don't know anything about Chinese food. Sorry.

11. I made Gan Ning talk weird. I don't really know why. I guess cause he used to be a pirate and pirates usually talk weird.

12. I'm not saying Xiao Qiao is annoying, ...wait, yes I am. Don't get mad at me, I have nothing against her. She's actually my 2nd fav. female character because she acts exactly like me, well sort of. I'm annoying most of the time, and a bit immature at times, but I don't scream almost everything I say.

13. Ah... The two people normally portrayed as drunkards once again being portrayed as so.

14. Don't know about in DW3, but in DW4, Sun Jian, Sun Quan, and Sun Ce all call Sun Shang Xiang tomboy when your playing a stage.

15. Also! I don't think Zhuge Liang is ugly, that's just was Xiao says. I personally don't think he's all that handsome either, but better than some.

Disclaimer: I do not own Koei or their characters. Or Romance of the Three Kingdoms if any of it is used in this chapter.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 5 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Halt! Who goes there?" called a voice. Liu Bei and his companions looked up at the guards on top of the the wall. They had reached the castle in the Wu capital.

"I am Lord Liu Bei of Shu. I have come to propose an alliance with Lord Sun Jian." The guards looked at each other and conversed for a few moments before one called back down.

"Hold on. We will send a messenger to our lord and see if he wishes to allow your entrance." One of the men disappeared and reappeared a few minutes later and told what appeared to be the head guard something. The guard nodded and called, "Alright, you can come in. We'll have a few of the guards escort Lord Liu Bei and his strategist to Lord Sun Jian. The others of you will wait in the courtyard." And so the gates opened and allowed them to enter. Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang continued to follow the guards while the other officers waited in the courtyard.

"I hope all goes well..." sighed Yue Ying.

"There is no need to worry. Lord Sun Jian really doesn't have a choice if he wants to beat Cao Cao's onslaught." Guan Yu said and Zhang Fei nodded in agreement.

"Besides, even if they didn't need our help, I'm sure Master Liang could convince them to accept the alliance anyway," said Zhao Yun. Ying thought for a bit before nodding herself.

"Yes, you are right."

x-x-x

Sun Jian had taken Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang into his council room. With him he had Zhou Yu, Sun Ce, and Sun Quan. They began discussing the alliance and the attack Cao Cao was planning, of which all of the details would most likely bore you.

"Yes, I agree completely, Lord Liu Bei. You say Cao Cao attacked you on your way here? What happened exactly? What were your losses?" asked Sun Jian.

"I believe Cao Cao knew I was trying to get to your territory to propose an alliance, and he did not want that. So he attacked us to try and stop us from getting here. My men and I traveled through Chang Ban, and of course over the Chang Jiang. I suppose in some ways you may say that my losses were minimal, and in others say they were immense..." answered Liu Bei as he sort of dazed off for a moment.

"Excuse me for asking, but what exactly does that mean?" inquired Zhou Yu, watching the Shu lord. Liu Bei snapped back and answered,

"Ahh... Yes. Well, I didn't loose to many troops. Cao Cao was weakened by the encounter we had at Bo Wang Po and his soldiers didn't exactly have the highest moral at the time. On the other hand, I almost lost my son as well as one of my two wives. The other wife I had was lost during the battle."

"That is... quite unfortunate..." said Sun Jian. "Well, if you would please give my officers and I a chance to discuss this alliance. You and your strategist here may go to the courtyard and wait with the rest of your generals while you wait. It shouldn't take to long to decide." And so left Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, being led by some guards back to the courtyard.

x-x-x

"How did it go, brother?" asked Zhang Fei as Bei and Liang walked into the courtyard to join the others.

"Uhh..." answered Liu Bei, looking at Zhuge Liang. "I suppose it went well." Liang nodded and began to fan himself.... again.

'Why does he always fan himself like that? It gets annoying. Especially when he does it when it's cold and there's no need to try to cool yourself off.' thought Yue Ying absent mindedly. She had gotten quite bored waiting for so long and was still tired from the last battle. Her mind tended to wander off at times when she was bored and tired. She caught herself and drew her attention back to Liu Bei, who was telling the others about how the council went.

x-x-x

After an eternity, or so it seemed as there was nothing to do, a few guards came back out to the courtyard.

"Lord Liu Bei and Lord Zhuge Liang, Sun Jian has a decision. If you would please follow us," said one of the guards and walked off with Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang following. They reached the council room and one of the guards opened the door and bowed. The two continued walking into the room and walked up to the table. Sun Jian and his officers stood up and everyone bowed to each other before sitting down.

"Lord Liu Bei, I have made my decision. I accept your offer to form an alliance. It would be quite difficult for my army alone to defend against the attacks from Cao Cao. If our two armies work together, then we can indeed defeat him and push back into his own land." Liu Bei bowed his head.

"Thank you, Lord Sun Jian. I am very grateful. If we did not have your cooperation then my army would surely be destroyed by Cao Cao and my people would be under the rule of a tyrant."

"No, I should be thanking you. I had not even considered the threat until you came here. Anyway, you left the rest of your army outside the city, did you not? We have another small castle for the purpose of any extra troops we may have nearby. If you wish, you may send one of your generals with one of mine to take them to it."

"Yes, I thank you again, Lord Sun Jian."

x-x-x

"Wow! These people really know how to throw a banquet!" said Zhao Yun. The Shu and Wu generals, including the two lords, of course, were sitting around a large table full of all different types of delicious foods.

"I must admit, this food is some of the best I've ever tasted," said Yue Ying, taking a bite of some chicken and rice. After she said this, the doors burst open and in came Zhang Fei and Gan Ning. Liu Bei had sent Zhang Fei to take the army to the reserve castle and Sun Jian had sent Gan Ning to show him the way. This meant that they would be rid of the two who would get the most involved in the banquet, if you know what I mean, at least for a little while.

"Hey! Who started this banquet without us?!" Called out Zhang Fei, then spotted the wine. "Oh... wine!"

"Oh no!" groaned everyone from Shu.

"Hey! Save sum o' dat fer me!" called Gan Ning, running after Zhang Fei towards the wine.

"Oh no!" groaned everyone from Wu.

x-x-x

During the banquet, everyone got acquainted with those from the other side, such as the following conversations.

"So your one of the famous Qiao sisters?" asked Zhao Yun.

"Yes, I am Da Qiao."

"Wow! I heard you were beautiful but I never thought you were this beautiful!"

"Oh... Uhh, Thanks," said Da, blushing a bit.

"This might sound sort of strange, seeing as we just meet, but do you have a, you know, boyfriend or something?"

"Yes, Lord Sun Ce is my husband." Zhao Yun looked down the table at Sun Ce.

'Darn it! Why couldn't it have been some weak ugly guy? Then I could have stolen her heart!' he thought. He turned back to Da and changed the conversation to something else. A little bit further along the table, Yue Ying was talking to Xiao Qiao.

"My name is Xiao Qiao! I'm married to the great Zhou Yu! See! He's down there! Isn't he handsome?!" Yue Ying looked down the table. The guy she was talking about seemed to be the serious and reserved type. This Xiao girl seemed to be immature and liked to scream everything she said.

'What an odd couple...' thought Ying before turning back to Xiao and saying, "Uhh... yes, I suppose so."

"Are you married?!"

"Yes, my husband is Zhuge Liang."

"The one talking to Zhou Yu?! He looks ugly! Why'd you marry him?!" Ying sighed, looking quite annoyed with the girl. Around the room walked a very drunk Zhang Fei and Gan Ning, hitting on any of the servant girls they found.

"Ar... 'ey... let's... 'ave... a... drinking... contest...!" said Zhang Fei, hiccupping.

"Yeerrrr...! That... sounds... fun...! Hoooo... can... drink... da... mosts...?" answered Gan Ning and the two of them went over to an empty spot on the table. Both took a cup of wine and drank it, and then both passed out. A few of the servants came up and started dragging the two men to their rooms. At the top of the table sat Liu Bei and Sun Jian, who were conversing. While they were doing so, a woman came up to Sun Jian.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now, Father. I' m tired from training so much."

"Alright, goodnight then, tomboy." The girl nodded and walked out of the room. "That's my daughter, Sun Shang Xiang," Sun Jian said to Liu Bei. "Quite a tomboy. She refuses to wear dresses or skirts unless it's a very special occasion and won't grow her hair out past her shoulders. She's a good fighter though, a good asset to my army."

"Yeah. Pops is real upset about her though. He doubts anyone will want to marry her, not anyone who's worthy enough, anyway." said Sun Ce, who was sitting beside his father.

"I see..." said Liu Bei. He, on the other hand, thought she was quite pretty and would make a good wife. It would be a nice change to have a wife who liked to fight like that. All the wives he ever had came from a noble family and were raised to sew and weave and that sort of thing. But it really wasn't his say about Sun Shang Xiang, her father would most likely never let her marry him, and to tell the truth, he didn't exactly want to. If they did get married then she would be caught between sides once the alliance broke and Shu and Wu were at war with each other.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 5 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I redid my bio, not like anyone reads those things anyway. I really have no clue why I'm telling you peoples that. Anyway, on a side note, Yeah! Go George W. Bush!! Woo!!!


	7. Chapter 6: Preparations for Chi Bi

Thanks for the reviews!

Okay, I'm thinking of adding in more things than what actually happens in the game. I don't know if it will turn out to be good or not, so if no one likes how it goes in the next chapter or 2 , I'll remove the parts that lead up to it and rewrite it so it leads more towards the game version of events, okey doke?

I'm tired of the Notes thingy, so if you don't understand something, just ask and I'll answer you or something.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors. Or the novel if any part of it is used.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 6 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The allied forces were on the river, organizing their naval fleets. A spy had come a few days back saying that Cao Cao was planning to cross the river to attack, so the allies decided to stop the attack before the enemy got to land. The spy had also said that a strange man had suggested that Cao Cao chain his ships together so that his men and horses would have more space to move around. Zhuge Liang had questioned the spy a bit more about the strange man he was talking about. He had then smiled, seeming to know this man, and came up with a plan to defeat Cao Cao.

"We must set Cao Cao's ships on fire," he had said at the war council held on the bank of the river in a tent.

"But to do that, we would need a southeastern wind," said Zhou Yu.

"Precisely."

"You do not understand! There has not been a southeastern wind for ages!"

"Then we shall make it blow southeast."

"What do you mean?"

"I will perform a prayer ceremony to the winds. The wind will then blow southeast. Someone will set Cao Cao's fleet on fire. The flames should catch quickly, as the ships are chained." Zhou Yu was still a bit skeptic of this plan. Could this man really make the winds blow in a direction they had almost never blown in? The Shu generals seemed to be very confident of the Sleeping Dragon's skills, and therefore many of the Wu generals also grew confident in him as well. There was really no other way, Zhou Yu would just have to trust this Zhuge Liang...

x-x-x

That night, after the war council, Yue Ying and Zhuge Liang were back in their own tent. Ying was polishing her scythe and checking its blade, as well as polishing and checking over her armor. Liang was sitting in one of the corners of the tent. He had made a sort of makeshift library and had a few of his books opened on the table in front of him, studying them. Ying looked up over at him.

"That strange man the spy talked of a few days back, you seemed to know him." He didn't say anything, still pouring over his books. Ying knew that he sometimes didn't answer right away when someone was talking to him while he was reading, so she turned her attention back to her scythe and armor. After waiting for a few moments, he finally answered, though he was still looking at his books.

"Yes, I know of the man the spy talked of. And so should you. He stopped by our farm quite a few times in the past."

'There were many men who stopped by the farm in the past...' Ying thought. She stood up and put away her scythe and armor and sat down where she had been sitting before. She put her hand in her chin and thought about what the spy had said of the strange man. Apparently he was a bit on the short side and wore a cloak over his clothes. He also wore a hat with a cloth under it so it hid his face and carried around a strange bent staff. The man had seemed to have a good sense of humor and liked to play tricks. Ying continued to think of who had stopped by the farm that looked and acted like this. When it finally hit her as to who it was, she stood up and gasped. Liang, who had been still studying, looked up with a slightly annoyed look.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice also having a hint of annoyance. Ying, embarrassed by what she had done, blushed.

"Oh, I... Sorry, it is just that I figured out who the man was."

"Yes. It is surprising that he came out of his hiding. He generally has no will to help out any of the armies with anything. He would much rather live out in the country and live a simple life." Liang returned to his studies and Ying looked around. She had already taken care of her weapon and armor, so she really had nothing to do. She could get a book out of the things she had brought and read as well, or she could always go outside and walk around the camp and see who she could find to talk with. She considered her choices for a moment before deciding to walk around the camp. Liang looked up momentarily as she left, and then once again returned to his studies.

x-x-x

There were surprisingly many people outside. You would think that with a battle so near that they would be getting as much sleep as possible at night and as much training and preparation done as possible in the day. Many of both the Shu and Wu generals had gathered around in the center of the camp, though some broke off into their own smaller groups of friends. Yue Ying sat beside Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, who seemed to be depressed by the fact that he had been forbidden to drink any wine before the battle.

"Cheer up! You know what usually happens when you drink to much before a battle. You end up being late and mess up the plans that you were supposed to carry out." said Guan Yu to his sworn brother. "You can have all the wine you want when this is over." This seemed to cheer up Fei a tad, but he still seemed a bit depressed.

"So, what is Master Liang up to?" asked Zhao Yun.

"Studying his books, as he always does in his free time before battles," Ying answered. Yun nodded and said,

"You would think he had memorized all his books by now." At this, Ying laughed.

"Yes, though I suppose he probably picks up something he missed every time he reads them." The four Shu generals turned the discussion towards the upcoming battle.

"Do any of you know who told Cao Cao to chain the ships together?" Yun asked and both Ying and Yu nodded.

"I heard Master Liang telling Liu Bei about the man after the spy had gotten finished reporting. Almost everyone else had left by this time. Apparently his name is Pang Tong, the Fledgling Phoenix. I hear he's quite the strategist, almost as good as Master Liang himself. Though it sounds as though he's a bit odd looking from what the spy reported," said Yu. Ying nodded.

"He's one of Master Liang's old friends. He is very intelligent, though he's not the serious type like most strategists. He likes to joke around and play pranks. He used to always cause trouble when he stopped by Master Liang's farm," she said and then, as an afterthought, added, "I wonder if he still rides that old donkey of his, Daisy, or if she's finally keeled over?"

x-x-x

The next morning, it appeared that there were still a few days before Cao Cao's fleet would finally arrive. Once again, most of the generals had gathered around in groups for breakfast instead of eating in their tents. It seemed that only the ones that didn't have a spouse in the army did so though. The only person who was married to someone in the army and was outside for breakfast was Yue Ying. Zhuge Liang was once again studying his books while eating, so there was no use trying to start a conversation with him. You would think he would eventually get bored of reading, wouldn't you? Anyway, breakfast passed and everyone began training and preparing for the upcoming battle. Some of the generals started a fighting competition just to make things interesting, while other generals helped train the soldiers for battle. Everyone was encouraged to train or meditate or do something besides laze around, so anyone caught doing so was "volunteered" to help check and pack supplies and other such things.

x-x-x

Yue Ying trained with her scythe until around noon, in which she took a break with the other generals to have lunch. After this, she went back to her tent. Mostly this was so she could also study some of her books on war and strategy, but also it was to see what Zhuge Liang was doing. When she entered, she found that he had stopped taking a break from studying and was currently meditating. He opened one eye for a second just to see who had come in, then closed it again. So that she would not disturb him, she opened her chest, took a few of her books out, and walked back out of the tent. She knew that no one was supposed to leave the camp without permission, but who would really notice if she was only gone for an hour or so? Everyone was so busy that who they had seen or who they hadn't seen probably didn't register much in their minds. She walked to a deserted part of the camp and looked around carefully to make sure no one caught her. It looked as though it was clear, so she went on into the woods. She continued walking until no sound from the camp could be heard, only the sound of the nature around her. She sat down on a log, opened up one of her books, and began reading. She soon became lost in her book and didn't take much notice to things around her.

x-x-x

After awhile, Yue Ying began to finally hear the strange noises that had been going on around her for quite some time. She heard an occasional snap of a twig and other such noises that any animal walking around would make. Regardless of the fact that is was most likely an animal, Ying still drew herself out of the book and became more alert, listening with as much concentration as possible. The log she was sitting on was underneath a large tree and she began to hear it's leaves rustling more than the wind should allow.

'It's probably only a bird or something,' she thought. The leaves continued to rustle and eventually a few began to fall to the ground. Ying looked at some of the leaves that had fallen and slowly began to turn her head so she could look up.

'Please just let it be a bird or something! I don't have my scythe with me!' she prayed. When her eyes finally reached the part of the tree where all the rustling was coming from, she gasped and jumped up. There was a man crouching down on one of the limbs! Before she could react any further, the man jumped out of the tree and landed beside her…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 6 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Uh oh! Who is the person that jumped out of the tree? A friend or foe? Only I know! Actually, I don't... I haven't decided who it's going to be yet --grins-- 


	8. Chapter 7: Captured

Thanks for the reviews! Wow, I updated a lot sooner than I normally do. I should have used this time to work on my projects due next week. Oh well.

I had a hard time trying to decide if the man should be Pang Tong or someone from Wei or something very twisted. I decided to go with the very twisted idea. Like I usually say about weird things that I try, if no one likes this chapter, I'll remove it and rewrite it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors. Or the novel if any of it is used in this chapter (though I think it isn't).

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 7 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The man was not completely visible, for he was still in the shadows of the nearby trees. He walked closer to Yue Ying and his identity could then be determined. Ying looked at the man with a look of surprise and relief on her face.

"Pang Tong? What are you doing here?" her voice still a little bit shaky from the scare she had. Pang Tong laughed and said,

"Sorry if I scared you there. It's been awhile since I played a prank on you. I happened to be taking a walk through this here forest and saw you reading. I just couldn't resist doing that." He tilted his head as he thought about something. "Hey, aren't you in Shu? Your not supposed to be out of the camp are you?"

"Uh... no, but I wanted to get away from all the noise and activity in the camp so I could concentrate on reading," answered Ying. 'Wait a minute…' she thought and asked, "Which way did you come from through the forest?"

"From the south," Pang Tong pointing in that direction. He had answered without thought of what he was saying. "Uh oh..."

"But the camp is to the north... How did you know that Shu was even here?" asked Ying, with thoughts of suspicion in her mind. He had been in Wei with Cao Cao after all. Here Tong hesitated.

"Okay, to tell you the truth, I've been sort of spying on the Shu army in a way. I'm trying to figure out what made Zhuge Liang join Liu Bei when he'd much rather live out in the country as a hermit. I'm the same way as he, you know, and I wouldn't want to leave my cottage in the woods for anything. I guess curiosity just got the best of me," he shrugged. To most people, this may seem like a plausible excuse, but not to Ying. She had a sort of sixth sense and could tell when almost anyone was lying. She could tell that Tong's answer was partially false and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Really?" Tong sighed. He had known about her ability to detect lies, but he had hoped that perhaps it didn't always work. There was no choice now.

"I'm sorry Yue Ying, but you know to much now. It really wasn't supposed to be like this." As he said this, Ying heard footsteps behind her. She twisted around to see who it was. The only thing she saw was a glimpse of another man dressed in blue armor before he hit her over the head with something heavy. She dropped to the ground, though she was still conscious at the moment. She just had a major headache and her vision was fading in and out. Another man in blue armor appeared.

"Take her back to our camp. Tie her up and put her in my tent. I don't want Cao Cao to find out about her just yet, she's an old friend and I don't want him to do anything to her until I tell him my plan," she heard Pang Tong say as her vision finally went black and she fell unconscious.

x-x-x

It was almost dusk and there was still activity in the camp, though things were beginning to die down as the soldiers lined up for supper. The generals were served first and they had already sat down to eat. Since Yue Ying had normally been eating with Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, they noted her absence.

"I wonder where she is at?" thought Guan Yu out loud.

"Maybe she is eating with Master Liang?" suggested Zhao Yun.

"Should we go check and see?" wondered Zhang Fei. Yu shook his head.

"He might get mad at us for interrupting his studies if he is doing so."

"Well I'm going to go take a peek. I bet he won't even notice if we're quiet and only look for a second," said Zhang Fei, rising from where he had been sitting. He took a few steps towards Zhuge Liang's tent before stopping and looking to see if anyone was following him. Yun and Yu just sat there, obviously not wanting to get in trouble and also seeing whether their friend had the guts to do as he said. Fei looked back towards the tent, then back at his plate of food that he had set down. He walked back over to it, sat down, and picked it up.

"Hrm... better eat while it's still warm," he gave as his excuse. The other two Shu generals laughed as Zhang Fei began to eat as slowly as possible.

"Fine, Fei. I will go with you to see if Ying is in her tent or not," said Guan Yu, patting his younger sworn brother on the back.

"And so will I," volunteered Zhao Yun. The three got up and went to Zhuge Liang's tent. Zhang Fei parted the tent's flaps just enough so he could see inside with one eye. His eye scanned the room carefully and saw Yue Ying's scythe beside her chest. He also saw Zhuge Liang, though it turned out that he had stopped studying. He was sitting at a table in the middle of the tent and seemed to be eating, though it was hard to tell as his back was to the front of the tent. Fei continued to look around the tent, but from he could see, Yue Ying was not there.

"Zhang Fei!" He jumped as Zhuge Liang called his name. "Come here. And you to Guan Yu and Zhao Yun." The three entered nervously. "Why were you spying?" asked Liang, standing up and turning to face the men. Zhang Fei began to talk, but he seemed to just be jumbling up words.

"Hmm..." said Liang, as he raised an eyebrow. Guan Yu punched Fei, who immediately stopped saying whatever he was saying.

"We are very sorry, Master Liang." said Zhao Yun, bowing. "We were spying because we were wondering where Lady Yue Ying was. She usually eats her meals with us, but she was not there tonight."

"So you came to see if she was here? Then why did you not just ask if you could enter?"

"Uh... I... We... did not want to interrupt your studies."

"I see. Well, as you can see, my wife is not here. I have not seen her since around noon today or so. She took some books with her, so she most likely left the camp so she could read somewhere quiet."

"She left the camp? She is not supposed to do that... And she has been gone for about six hours. Perhaps we should tell Brother..." said Guan Yu but Liang shook his head.

"She probably just lost track of time. I am sure she will be back soon."

"But what if something happened to her? What if there were some Wei spies about?" asked Zhang Fei, having just gained the ability to talk again.

"She can take care of herself. If she is not back soon, I will go look for her," said Zhuge Liang, hinting that he would take care of the matter and that the other three men should leave, and so they did. He sighed as they left and sat back down to eat. He would go see what had become of Ying if she had not come back by the time he had finished his supper. He hoped that she would come back before then, safe and unharmed.

x-x-x

Yue Ying woke up with a start, and an aching head.

'Where am I?' she thought, looking around her surroundings. Her hands and feet were tied up so she couldn't move, and she was further tied to one of the support poles in what seemed to be a tent. She began to remember what had happened and became angry. She thought Pang Tong was her friend. He had betrayed her. And further, he had joined Wei. Now he was most likely going to suggest that Cao Cao use her as a hostage for the next battle. She began to struggle, but the knots had been tied securely. Even though this made her head hurt even worse, she continued to try and get herself free. As she was doing do, Pang Tong entered the tent.

"Now now, you shouldn't be doing that. The only thing it's doing is making your head worse. I think that guy over did it a little when he hit you with that cooking pot." he clucked his tongue as he walked over to her and wiped her forehead off, for blood was beginning to run down it.

'I got knocked out by a cooking pot…?' she thought and then shook her head. That didn't matter now. "You traitor!" she spat at Pang Tong

"Easy tiger! I really didn't mean for this to happen. If you had just bought my lie then you wouldn't be here. You would be back in your bed having a good night's rest."

"And it would also mean that you had gotten into our camp and found out our plans to beat Cao Cao!"

"So it would, but will your plan still work? He really isn't going to chain the ships together. He knows that Zhuge Liang will try a fire attack. And the only place that will work for a good ceremony will be carefully guarded by the Wei army, I can assure you that." Ying growled at him.

"Why are you doing this? Cao Cao is an evil and ambitious man! He cares not for the people he rules, he only cares that he conquers China and becomes emperor!"

"I know... but Liu Bei is his rival. Zhuge Liang is Liu Bei's strategist and he is my rival. I want to prove that my strategies are as good as his. I knew I would be more likely to get to prove myself if I joined someone who would want to fight Liu Bei all the time.

"Why do you want to prove yourself?"

"You know what they say of me, right? They say I'm 'almost' an equal to the great Sleeping Dragon. I'm tired of everyone saying he's better than I. I must prove that I am at least equal to, if not greater than, him."

"You are not thinking this through! What about the future? Are you going to help Cao Cao conquer China?"

"No. Once one of my strategies defeats one of Zhuge Liang's, then I will resign from Wei and return to my cottage in Xiang Yang. Well, I've gotta go see Cao Cao now about a new plan of mine, which you can probably guess. If all goes according to plan, this will be my first and last battle as a Wei general. Ta!" said Tong as he walked out of the tent.

x-x-x

Zhuge Liang took a lamp and walked out of his tent. Yue Ying had not returned after he finished he supper, so he did as he said he would. He looked around the camp. It seemed that almost everyone else had turned in for the night, though there were still some people outside, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Guan Yu begin among them. They were obviously still worried about Ying and had stayed outside to see if she would return. They spotted Liang walking towards the least used area of the camp and followed. If something had happen to Ying, it was most likely someone from Wei. She was a valuable warrior and strategist for their army, so they couldn't afford to lose Zhuge Liang as well. He stopped as he saw the three following him and waited for them to catch up. The four men then entered the woods and began the search. They picked up what seemed to be a trail of where someone could have possibly walked and followed it. It led them to a tree with a log underneath it.

"It looks as though she was here..." said Zhuge Liang as he picked up one of the books that were sitting beside the log and looked at it. "These are her books."

"Where is she then? Did she get captured?" asked Zhao Yun. Zhuge Liang continued to look around the area. The lamp wasn't providing much light, so he began to mutter a spell. As he finished it, the lamp glowed brighter and the light it cast covered a much larger area. He set the lamp on the log and began to look around for signs of what had happened. There were traces of what appeared to be light footprints around. He noticed a set that looked deeper than the others near the tree.

"It appears that someone jumped out of this tree," he said, looking up at the said tree. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei came and looked at the footprints as well. Zhao Yun was looking around the ground and noticed something. He picked up what appeared to be a heavy cooking pot. It appeared to have a small trace of a red substance on the bottom of it.

"Look at this! I found it on the ground over here," he said, handing the pot to Zhuge Liang, who inspected it.

"What is the red stuff on it?" asked Yun.

"It is blood. Someone must have knocked Yue Ying out with this..." said Liang.

"Hey! Look here!" said Zhang Fei, pointing to another path made in the woods.

"It looks as though they dragged her somewhere," said Guan Yu. Zhuge Liang picked up the lamp and started down the path while the others followed behind him. They discovered that it led away from the Shu and Wu camp to avoid it and then back towards the river. Once at the river they discovered places where a few small boats seemed to have once been at. Zhuge Liang looked over to the other side of the river.

"So someone from Wei did do this..." said Zhao Yun, who looked at Zhuge Liang. He didn't seem to look any different than normal, but his eyes had a glint of anger and worry in them. He turned and began to walk back to the camp. The other three men noted that he was walking much faster than he normally did as they watched him. They exchanged glances and then hurried after Liang.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 7 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Okay, so there you go. A twisted idea. I hoped you guys liked it. Just to note, I'm not trying to make Pang Tong look like a bad guy, which I tried to explain in the chapter. I like him and I wouldn't put him through the torture of being in Wei --shudders-- 


	9. Chapter 8: Rescued

Thanks to **Guan**, who was the only person who reviewed the last chapter, and thanks for reviewing every chapter since I started as well!

Warning: This chapter may be a bit weird at parts, as you may be able to tell if you read the disclaimer. And I suck at romance parts.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors. Koei owns it and the characters in it. My odd, yet still lovely, cousin, Emma, owns the part of the Chicken In The Icebox song. And the part from the Different Ways to Get Hurt in a Circus song belongs to me. It sucks, I know... But I needed another weird thing for Pang Tong to sing.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 8 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So... What're we gonna do, then?" Zhang Fei asked, looking at his companions. He, Zhao Yun, Guan Yu, and Zhuge Liang had gone to see Liu Bei after they had found out what had happened to Yue Ying. While the other four men sat around a table, Zhuge Liang was pacing angrily around the tent. This was indeed an odd sight to see. He rarely got so worked up about something, normally he just stood calmly fanning himself. He finally stopped and turned to the others.

"I have an idea," he said. "It may seem reckless, but it's the only way that she will not be used as a hostage in the upcoming battle. There is still about eight hours until the sun will rise. I will sneak into the Wei camp, find Yue Ying and release her. Those idiots will never know what happened." He then continued pacing around the tent.

'If Liu Bei does not give me permission to rescue her, then I will go against his orders. I do not care what the consequences are, I just want my wife back,' he thought. Liu Bei sat and watched him. He knew that saying no wasn't an option, Zhuge Liang would find a way to do it anyway. He couldn't lose his best strategist.

"Fine. You have my permission to go, Master Liang." Liang stopped and bowed.

"Thank you, my lord," he said and walked out of Liu Bei's tent. He went to his own and grabbed his fan before finding the path back to the river.

x-x-x

Yue Ying had fallen asleep, but awoke with a start as Pang Tong reentered the tent. She glared icily at him as he walked past her.

"Well, Cao Cao loved my plan, I'll have you know," he said. "I have a feeling Wei will be winning the next battle against the Allies."

"Don't count on it! I am sure Master Liang will come up with a plan that will beat yours!"

"Hmm... Not if he wants to keep you alive..."

"What?! Once again I call you a traitor! I thought you were friends with my husband and I!" Pang Tong laughed.

"Oh come on! Can't you take a joke? I wouldn't let Cao Cao kill you. If things take a turn for the worse, then I'll run off with you before Cao Cao gets a chance to do anything to you." He sat down and began to mess around with something on the ground. It seemed to be some sticks and stones that he was messing with. Ying watched with interest. He appeared to be performing some sort of ritual that she had heard of seers using before.

"Can you tell the future?" she asked. Tong looked at her.

"Ahh... not exactly. I know how to perform the ritual, but I just don't have the type of power needed to be able to read the signs completely. I can get some things out of it, but it usually makes no sense." He returned his gaze to the ground. "Okay... It's telling me that rabbits with sharp pointy teeth will eat everyone in the world tomorrow."

"What?"

"Exactly." He grabbed a nearby book and started to read it. As he was doing so, he began to sing.

"Oh...! There's... a...  
Chicken in the icebox  
And I'll go and get it for you!  
There's a chicken in the icebox  
And I'll go and get it for you!  
It's blue! It's blue!  
It has no head! It has no feet!  
It's blue! It's blue!  
It has no head! It has no feet!"

'Why does he always sing those strange songs?' thought Ying as she sighed.

"Uh oh!"

"What is it now?"

"I think we may have some company soon..."

"What do you mean?" Tong shrugged and started to sing a new song.

x-x-x

Zhuge Liang had reached the edge of the river where the boats had been at. He mumbled a spell and pointed his fan across the river. A bridge of ice appeared that was just wide enough for him to cross without falling off. He crossed the bridge and said another spell so that his fan gave off light. He looked around for some tracks and once he found them, followed them. After walking for about ten minutes, he reached the sleeping Wei camp, so he called off his spell and his fan stopped giving off light. They didn't seem to have posted any guards, no one was out wandering around the camp.

'Now the only problem is figuring out where she is at...' he thought as he pondered what he could do besides going around and looking into every tent, risking an even larger chance of being caught. 'Hmm... Well, I have an idea. If it will work or not, I do not know, but I suppose it is worth a try. I know! I will use telepathy to tell her how to help me make this locater spell work.'

x-x-x

"Just walkin' on a tightrope  
And off I fell!  
I busted my skull open  
And blood spewed like a well!  
They rushed me to the hospital  
No one knows how  
But I somehow made it  
So they said wow!"

Yue Ying hit her head against the pole she was tied to. Pang Tong was getting to be very annoying. Suddenly, a strange voice popped into her head.

"Yue Ying! Can you hear me?"

'What? Am I hearing voices?' she thought.

"Yue Ying! It is me, Zhuge Liang."

'Master Liang? How are you talking to me? You are not in the tent...'

"No, I am near the outskirts of the Wei camp. I am using telepathy to talk to you. Listen, I have come to release you and take you back to the Allied camp, but I have to locate you first. I know of a locater spell, but it will only work it the person I am trying to find is thinking of me. So, just start thinking something about me and I will be there soon."

'Think about you? Uhh... Let me see... Okay. I've got it.'

"Good. It's working. Hold on! Pang Tong?! You are in Pang Tong's tent? He was the one who captured you? That... that... Arg!"

'I know, but you don't understand. The only reason why he did it was because he wanted his talents to finally be recognized. He wants to prove that his plans are as good, if not better, than yours. He was going to leave Wei after one of his plans beat yours.'

"... I see. Well, perhaps I can convince him to defect if that is the case. Alright, I am outside his tent. I am coming in now." As he finished speaking, he came walking into the tent fanning himself.

"Hello, Pang Tong." Tong jumped and turned around to see him.

"Whoa! Zhuge Liang! How'd you get here?"

"That does not matter now. I suggest you give me my wife back."

"Why should I? It would mess up my plans."

"Forget your plans! Listen, if you defect to Shu, we can have our own battle of the wits later. Do you really want to fight against your friends?"

"No..."

"Then join us. If you prove yourself against me, perhaps Liu Bei will sometimes chose your plans over mine."

"You think so?" Zhuge Liang shrugged.

"Make up your mind, quick. I want to get going soon."

"Fine! I'll let Ying go and join Shu, but you better promise that we will have our own little battle soon!"

"Alright, I promise." Pang Tong picked up his staff and cut Yue Ying lose with a dagger that he kept under his cloak.

"Let's get going, then!"

x-x-x

The three had made it back to the Allied camp and took Pang Tong to see Liu Bei.

"Ah, so you are back? And with Yue Ying as well. Good job, Lord Zhuge Liang. Oh, who is this fellow?"asked Bei as the three entered the tent.

"Fellow? Hmm... I suppose you mean me. My name is Pang Tong. Some call me the Fledgling Phoenix, ever heard of me?"

"I am afraid not..."

"Damn!" Pang Tong said under his breath. "No one's heard of me out here." Zhuge Liang cleared his throat.

"Pang Tong is a strategist, as myself. He is one of my old friends from Xiang Yang, and his mind is like to my own, as I am told."

"Darn right it is!"

"Hmm... Well, anyway, he has come to defect to Shu. He was a Wei general for a short period of time, but he has decided to change his allegiance."

"Are you sure this is not one of his tricks?" asked Liu Bei, looking a bit worried.

"Positive. Believe me, he will not try anything."

"Unless you ignore my ideas..." Liu Bei looked at him for a minute before saying,

"Uh, it is an honor to have you join Shu, Lord Pang Tong."

"Don't call me 'Lord'. It's way to formal for me."

"...Okay. You may have the empty supply tent for now. Here, this servant will show you the way," said Liu Bei, motioning to one of his servants to take Pang Tong there.

"Come, Ying. Let us go back to our own tent. It is getting late," Liang said.

x-x-x

Yue Ying entered the tent first with Zhuge Liang behind her.

"Yue Ying..." He began and she turned around to face him.

"Hmm?"

"You do not know how worried I was about you. I was afraid they would have hurt you or killed you."

"Master Liang, I..." And there she stopped for he had pulled her over to him and kissed her. Ying was surprised by this action, he had never shown any type of affection towards her before. At least now she knew he felt the same way as she did.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 8 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So, there you go. Chapter 8. It's about 300 words shorter than normal, but oh well.

Anyway, it would mean lots to me if you reviewed. I don't care how long it is, so you don't have to go all out with a long review of whether my story is good or if it sucks if you don't want to.


	10. Chapter 9: Battle of Chi Bi I

Thanks to **Guan**, **CrazyInsanity**, and **michelle** for the reviews!

Ok. Three things. First of all, Pang Tong may be out of character, I don't know. He's (err... was) probably more serious than I make him to be. Second, you know how the ships are all hooked together in the game? Well I tried to explain how they were hooked up, but I don't know if it sounds right or even reasonable. Third, this chapter may not be to good. I sort of had writer's block and kept on running out of things to write. Might be sort of boring to, I don't know.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors. Koei does. Oh... And there is a part sort of like in the movie The Lord of the Rings (forgot which one) where a guy accidentally shoots an arrow and starts the battle. Don't know if you know what I'm talking about, but I do.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 9 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next day another war council was held in a tent in the center of the camp. The council was held to see if any last minute changes needed to be made to the plan. The Wei army seemed to be preparing for their attack.

"So, you do not know exactly what Cao Cao is going to do?" Zhuge Liang asked Pang Tong.

"Nope. He has a few people that advise him and give him ideas, but the only person that he allows to map out the entire plan is his precious Sima Yi. I only know what parts of my plan he is going to use. Of course, now that I defected, he might have changed them around some. I can tell you that he isn't going to chain his ships together and that he will most likely have an ambush set up in the only place suitable for a wind prayer ceremony," Pang Tong answered as everyone else present just sat and listened to the two talking.

"I see... Well then, I suppose we will keep our plan as it is. The only way we can beat their fleet is if we can set it on fire and the only way we can do that is with a prayer ceremony. We will just have to tighten our defenses around the area where I will perform the ceremony until the wind begins to blow. As for you, Pang Tong, I do not think you should be in this battle."

"What?! Why not?"

"You know why."

"Of course I know why. I was just trying to help out those people who don't have very high intelligence levels in here. They might want to know why. Like you," said Pang Tong, pointing to a man with a dopey look on his face. "Don't you want to know why I can't be in this battle?" The man scratched his head.

"Uhh... Not really..."

"Of course you do! It's because Cao Cao considers me a traitor and might even think that this was all a trick in the first place. He's probably all worked up about that now and will kill me the next time he sees me. He'll probably have everyone out looking for me. That's why I can't be in the next battle. Do you understand now?"

"Uhh... Okay..."

"That was a waste of time, Pang Tong. You need to be more serious," sighed Zhuge Liang.

"No my friend! You need to lighten up! Well, since I'm not needed, I'm going to go get Daisy and bring her over here. I beat she misses me."

"Daisy? You still have that old deformed thing?"

"She is not an old deformed _thing_! She is an old deformed _donkey_," sniffed Pang Tong. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." With that, he marched out of the tent and off to find his donkey. Liu Bei cleared his throat.

"Uh... yes, well, is there anything else that needs to be said?" The people present looked around at each other, but no one spoke. "Lord Sun Jian?"

"I can not think of anything either, so I suppose this is the end of the council. Back to work everyone!" All the people present at the council rose, bowed to the two lords, and filed out of the tent. As most were generals, they began to rouse the soldiers and officers that were lazing around and began to prepare for battle again. The soldiers and officers in charge of supplies ran off to prepare and check them, those in charge of the ships ran off to check them, and the remaining were "encouraged" to continue training.

x-x-x

As was predicted, the Wei army was on the move and had reached where the Allied forces were at. Both fleets were positioned parallel to the shores of the river. On both sides the two largest ships were at the end of the line. These two were tied to some sort of harbor on land and smaller ships were put in between the larger ones. The two larger ships would help stabilize the smaller ones so that they would hopefully stay together better. Before the battle began, the soldiers hurriedly lowered ramps so that all the ships were accessible for their side. Ramps were also lowered so that they could get back onto land and be able to get onto the enemies' ships better. This battle would mostly be fought on the ships, but there would be some of it fought on land, as the prayer site was located there. After this was done, the generals and officers took their troops and quickly went to their places. Liu Bei and Sun Jian stayed in the back of the army, for if they were routed then the battle would be lost. Most of the generals and officers went ahead on the ships in front of the two lords and Yue Ying went with Zhuge Liang to guard the prayer site. Zhao Yun had gone to round up some reinforcements and would be at the prayer site soon as well.

Both the Allied and the Wei army were in position and both stood still for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for the other side to make the first move.

"It does not seem like anyone has begun fighting yet," said Zhuge Liang. "But I suppose I should go ahead and begin the ceremony soon." He walked up the steps to the altar and began to prepare. Yue Ying sat on her horse and watched the units of troops on the ships to see when the fighting would begin, though she still looked around her every once in awhile incase the ambush came before the others began to fight.

"I am here!" called Zhao Yun as he rode up with the reinforcements behind him. "A stand-off? How long has this been going on?" he asked as he saw both armies standing still and glaring at each other waiting for the other to move. Yue Ying shrugged.

"It has been awhile. I am not exactly sure."

"Perhaps we should shoot one of those Wei soldiers over there with an arrow. I bet that would get things started."

"That is tempting... but I suppose we should wait until one of the lesser trained archers does that by accident. All the archers I can see are already ready for the battle, all they have to do is let lose of their arrow and it would hit a Wei solider." Just as Ying finished saying that, one of the Shu archers, who was young and nervous as this was his first battle, accidentally shot the arrow he had notched in his bow. It flew straight into the heart of a Wei foot solider, causing him to fall over dead instantly. This caused the Wei soldiers to rush forward to attack the Allied soldiers, who, after seeing their enemies charging, did the same.

"How odd... Are you psychic or something?" asked Zhao Yun.

"No, it was easy to tell that something like that might have happened," answered Yue Ying. "Now, we better keep a watch out for an attack." As before, right after she said that, an ambush party appeared out of no where led by Yue Jin.

"...Are you _sure_ you are not psychic?"

"A coincidence. Now, we must protect the altar or else Zhuge Liang will never be able to get the wind to blow! Come on!" She said and rode forward with her troops behind her to confront the enemy. Zhao Yun followed suite, leaving half of his troops to guard in the other direction. It was unlikely that anyone would attack from that way, but it never hurt to be safe.

"Two on one isn't fair! I'll even the odds!" called another Wei general, Li Dian, who came riding up behind Yue Jin with his troops.

"Zhao Yun! You take Li Dian, I will take Yue Jin!" Yue Ying shouted.

"Right!" Zhao Yun nodded and changed direction to go around Yu Jin's unit to reach Li Dian's. Yue Jin took his spear and swung at Yue Ying, who blocked it.

"Let's see what you got, girly!" he called to his opponent as he drew back for another attack.

"Girly?" said Ying as she urged her horse forward. She swung back her scythe and acted like she was going to hit him, so he blocked, but found out to late that she wasn't going to really hit him. He found himself on the ground in the dust after she had hooked the unsharpened end of her weapon around his ankle and dismounted him.

"Pretty good," he said. "How about this?" He motioned and one of his archers shot Ying's horse, startling it so that it bucked and threw her off. Zhao Yun, who had already beaten Li Dian, for he was not as strong as he had appeared, saw this.

"That is not very fair!" He called out as he rode up and smacked Yue Jin in the head with the pole of his spear.

"Ugh..." moaned Yue Jin before he fell over unconscious.

"He will have a nasty headache when he wakes up," said Ying as she stood up and dusted herself off. "I thought I told you he was mine? Li Dian was yours and you already took care of him." Zhao Yun shrugged.

"Sorry. My guy was not much of a challenge and I thought it would be nice to help you out. Come on, then. Let's take care of the rest of these troops and drag this guy further up towards Cao Cao's side so he won't bother us when he wakes up."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 9 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Well, there's the end of chapter 9. I know it's a tad bit shorter than normal, but I wanted to make sure I had enough for the next chapter, which will be the conclusion.

Hope you all have a merry Christmas. Yes, Christmas. Remember why we all really celebrate this holiday! Or at least, why it's _supposed_ to be celebrated...

Also, I traced (yes... traced) some pictures of a few of the female DW characters. If for some odd reason you want to see them, go to my profile, click on the Homepage link, then once you're on my site click the My Art link, then the Traced link.


	11. Chapter 10: Battle of Chi Bi II

Thanks to **Guan** and **zhugeliangsgrl** for the reviews! Sorry I didn't update as soon as I would normally do. I've been lazy lately. I lost my notes for Chi Bi, so since I'm lazy, I don't feel like taking more notes or playing the stage again. I'm going to end the battle before the fire start. You'll see. Oh my... did I compare Xu Zhu to Santa Claus? -shrugs- Eh, oh well.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors or their characters.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 10 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After much fighting, the area surrounding the altar had finally been cleared of enemies. Yue Ying and Zhao Yun returned to the altar to see how Zhuge Liang was fairing, making sure to leave some of their troops to look out for anymore enemies approaching.

"How is it going, Master Liang? Can you do it?" asked Zhao Yun as they rode up and stopped at the steps that led to the altar. Zhuge Liang was standing with his eyes closed and muttering something and occasionally made signs with his arms and hands. He opened one eye and glared at the one who dared interrupt his ceremony.

"Of course I can do it! It was going well until you interrupted!" he snapped. "This will add another five minutes..." he mumbled to himself before closing his eye and continuing the ceremony. Zhao Yun and Yue Ying looked at each other.

"Touchy touchy..." whispered Yun. Zhuge Liang had reached a part in the ceremony where he needed to pause and not say anything for a minute. He took this time to yell,

"I heard that!" without interrupting anything. Yun cringed while Ying suppressed a laugh. Both dismounted their horses and stood on the edge of the river to watch what they could of the battle while they waited for the wind to blow. It appeared as though the Wei army had the upper hand at the moment, which was no surprise as they had many more troops. As she watched, Yue Ying could see the general they called Xu Zhu. He looked very fat and stupid, but he was also very strong. He was taking out soldiers left and right with his giant, heavy, stone mace.

"Ouch! He looks like he can pack a powerful punch..." muttered Zhao Yun as he watched the mace slam into the deck of the ship, making a large hole. The owner of the mace began trying to pull it out, for it had gotten stuck. When he did manage to get it free, it flew up to fast and smashed into members of both sides of the army.

"Hmm..." answered Ying. "But he does not look to intelligent. Perhaps he could be defeated by other means besides physical attacks..." As they both stood watching the battle, they felt a gust of wind. Neither thought anything of it, until the noise of the cheering soldiers behind them shook them out of their thoughts.

"The southeast wind... It is blowing!" cried Ying as she turned and watched the banners some of the soldiers were carrying flow towards the southeast. Zhuge Liang stood looking up at the sky, calmly fanning himself. He had gotten a short temper during the ceremony, with the stress of being the only one capable of calling the winds. Now, however, he had returned to his normally calm self.

"Well then, my part is done. I suppose I shall take my leave, there is no other use for me here. Yue Ying, Zhao Yun, you two get going now. The Allies need your help." Yun nodded and mounted his horse. He led his troops over to the nearby ship and boarded. Ying stood for a moment and watched Liang, who nodded at her. He turned around and walked off with his bodyguards following.

x-x-x

After mounting her horse and boarding the ship herself, Yue Ying galloped along the ships and stopped when she reached the part where Liu Bei, Sun Jian, and Zhou Yu were at. Liu Bei was smiling broadly as the wind went by in strong gusts. Sun Jian was smiling as well, though not as big as this was not an accomplishment for his own strategist. Zhou Yu stood with his mouth agape, staring at the banners and the way they were blowing. When he saw Yue Ying coming up, he shut his mouth and showed no signs of any expression on his face. He could not let this Zhuge Liang's wife know that he was impressed; she would surely tell he husband if he did.

'This Zhuge Liang... He may one day be a great threat to Wu...' he thought and then turned to a strong, elder looking man.

"Huang Gai, you are the key to this plan. Go and fulfill your part. You must start the fires, no matter what." Huang Gai bowed. He took his small group of troops who were specially trained for matters such as this, and boarded a small boat. As they took off, Zhou Yu turned to Yue Ying.

"Lady Huang, is it not? May I ask of you a favor as you are the nearest general?"

"It depends on what the favor is," returned Yue Ying coldly. Even though it was her name, she for some reason still despised being called "Lady Huang". Apparently, Zhou Yu was aware of this somehow; A mischievous glint in his eye told her so.

"From what I have heard, you are a very skilled warrior, are you not? Then how about you go and clear the way for Huang Gai? It would make things much easier for him. If you run into that Zhao Yun fellow on the way, ask him to help as well. I am sure he could be of some use there." Yue Ying looked at Liu Bei, who had overheard the conversation, and nodded, giving her permission to go.

"Fine, I shall go," she said and took off again towards the area where the fire task unit was to arrive. Her bodyguards and troops, which had just caught up with her due to the fact that she was on horse, groaned. The bodyguards ran off after her. Zhuge Liang would have their heads if they weren't doing their jobs and she got hurt. Her troops stayed behind for a moment to rest before following.

x-x-x

As Yue Ying rode along, she soon found herself confronted by the giant Xu Zhu and his troops. She looked behind her and could see that her bodyguards were right behind her; she had not ridden as fast as she had before. Her troops were much further behind, slowly inching their way forward. Xu Zhu ran up with his belly jiggling like a bowl full of jelly. He stopped in front of Yue Ying and swung his mace down.

"Fight, fight, fight me!" he yelled. Ying dismounted from her horse, which was a beautiful black stallion. It would certainly be a shame if that mace crushed him.

"Fine. I shall prove my might to you!" she answered as she readied her scythe.

"Ahh!!!" cried Xu Zhu as he started running towards Yue Ying.

'He is slow...' she thought. 'That does not mean that he cannot hit me though. I have to be on my guard. If he does manage to hit me, there will certainly be a lot of pain involved...' She dodged the attack and swung her scythe, cutting him on his right forearm.

"Ouch!! That hurt..." he said as he looked at the red line and blood that had formed on his arm. "You're gonna pay now!"

While all of this was happening, Ying's bodyguards had caught up and were holding back the Wei soldiers so that they wouldn't interfere with the fight between the generals. Unfortunately, the least experienced of the women guards was overpowered by the sheer amount of attackers and cut down. This allowed a passage for the solders to get in to attack Yue Ying. She hissed through her teeth.

'Great,' she thought. 'Now I have to look out for attacks from Xu Zhu and the soldiers. This will make things more difficult...'

"Got you now!" laughed Xu Zhu. The soldiers surrounded the two generals, to make sure that their prey did not escape. The remaining five bodyguards were desperately trying to reach their lady, but there were just too many soldiers. There wasn't much of a chance of getting to her unless the rest of her troops would show up. Luckily, the troops were close, but were they close enough to reach Yue Ying before it was to late?

Xu Zhu and Yue Ying, who was occasionally poked in the back by the point of a sword, circled around each other. The soldiers not involved in keeping the bodyguards busy stood and jeered at her. Xu Zhu laughed as he charged and swung his mace at his opponent. Somehow, Ying was able to dodge the blow. To fix it so this couldn't happen again, the soldiers standing behind her moved out of the way, revealing part of a wooden wall. The rest closed in some to give her less space to move, but enough space so that they would hopefully not be hit by their commander's weapon. Xu Zhu swung his mace again. Ying tried her best to dodge, but there just was enough room to evade it completely. The heavy weapon crashed into the wooden wall, as well as her left arm. She tried to suppress a scream as she heard the cracking of breaking bones, but still cried out a little from the excruciating pain.

Yue Ying lifted her head slowly and saw Xu Zhu with his mace held above his head, about to go in for the kill. One blow to her chest would certainly crush all of her ribs and make it impossible to breathe.

"No!!" cried out a familiar male voice.

"Lady Yue Ying!" cried another.

"I am sorry, my husband..." she whispered and closed her eyes tightly. She had heard some of her fellow generals, of who she couldn't place at the moment, but there was no way they could reach her in time. She could hear the sound of the mace whistling through the air... And then there was a loud sound of stone hitting flesh. But... Wait a minute! She was still alive... wasn't she? She snapped open her eyes and was greeted by the sight of a large rock on top of Xu Zhu, who appeared to just be knocked out. His fat probably had protected him from being killed.

"What?" she thought out loud and looked around. There was Zhao Yun, angrily cutting down the Wei soldiers one by one. Kneeling at her left side was Pang Tong.

"Ouchie..." he said as he looked at her crushed arm. "That must've hurt, and I bet it still does."

"What?" Yue Ying repeated. "But... You are not supposed to be here?" she said in more of a question than statement. Pang Tong grinned mischievously and pulled his hat down a little.

"Remember the ceremony you saw me doing one time? The one seer's do to tell the future? Well... sometimes I can get something out of it. Anyway, it's a good thing I did come, huh? Good thing the first thing out of my mouth was a stone summoning spell too."

"Zhuge Liang will be mad, you know..."

"Mad? Why would he be mad? I save his wife's life! If anything, he should be very grateful! Well, now, I suppose we better get you out of here and fixed up by a doctor, eh? That arm probably hurts like hell! Hey! Carrier pigeon! Get over here!" yelled Pang Tong.

"Carrier pigeon?" asked Zhao Yun, who with the help of his and Ying's now caught up troops, had taken out the Wei soldiers. "What is that?"

"Not what, who! And that's you, carrier pigeon! You gotta carry Ying, because obviously I can't. She's _way_ to heavy for me to pick up..." this statement caused a piercing glare from Yue Ying. "I... I mean, she's taller than me and all. I'm just a lowly, physically weak strategist! Spare me!" he cried as he backed up to make sure there was no way Ying could reach him. Zhao Yun shook his head. He walked over to Ying and gently picked her up, making sure not to touch her left arm or shoulder. Despite this, she still groaned a little in pain. It really didn't hurt that much if her arm was still, but once it was moved, it felt like a thousand daggers were being pushed into it.

"Hold on! We need to help Huang Gai! We have to help him clear the bridge so he can start the fires! You cannot take me back now; you must go help him! His little group along cannot defeat all the soldiers there! Please, you must go help him! The fires must be ignited!" pleaded Yue Ying after Zhao Yun put her on top of his horse and had started leading it back to the main camp where Liu Bei was stationed. Yun looked over at Pang Tong, who shrugged.

"Umm... well, you're right I guess. Hey! You guys!" he turned around and pointed at Ying's remaining bodyguards. "You guys take her back to Liu Bei, okay? Zhao Yun'll go help Huang Gai."

"What about you?" asked Zhao Yun.

"Me? I gotta get out of here before I get in anymore trouble with Zhuge Liang then I already am!" Tong answered and ran off to get back to where he was supposed to be.

x-x-x

Along the way to reach where Liu Bei was, the group of women were met by Zhuge Liang. He looked worried and walked hastily to Yue Ying's side.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he looked at her arm.

"I will be fine, but how did you know to come? I thought that you had left..." answered Ying.

"I had left, but I got a bad feeling. I felt that something had happened to you, so I came back as quickly as I could. Enough chatting though, let us get you back to camp and fixed up."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 10 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hmm... I seem to be putting Yue Ying in places where someone else saves her or she gets hurt or something lately, don't I? Well, once she gets better than she'll be back and kicking major butt! But she will still get scratches and cuts, because it's not realistic for someone to never get hurt in battle. I seriously doubt anyone who has ever gone to a battle, no matter who or how good the person was, has ever come out of a battle without at least one wound, no matter how big or small. Heck, I get a scratch everyday from my stupid cat biting my hand!

Next chapter: Let me think... What is the next chapter about? Well, I guess Zhuge Liang will explain the ending of Chi Bi to Yue Ying while she is stuck in her room to heal, or something along the lines of that.


	12. Chapter 11: Back Home

I had to change my name, unfortunately. It won't let me have numbers in my pen name anymore. Anyway, my other stories are going to be on hold until I finish this one, if anyone cares. Hopefully I'll start updating more than once a month so I can finish it up quick. I'll try to start writing some at school during my free time.

**Note:** Couldn't think of anything else for Pang Tong to have done at the farmhouse, so… yeah.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dynasty Warriors.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHATPER 11 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zhuge Liang had gotten Yue Ying back to the main camp. He helped her off of the horse and brought her into the medical tent where a doctor and a few nurses tended to her arm. The doctor certainly took measures to assure that it would heal correctly. First, he had straightened the arm out before wrapping it in strips of silken cloth. Afterwards, he had taken two thin sheets of flexible wood and placed one on the side of her arm where her elbow bent and the other on the opposite side of that. This was so that she could not bend her arm. To hold the wooden pieces in place, he wrapped it once again with the silken strips. For a finale, he bound her arm to her side so that she could not move it at all.

After seeing that Yue Ying was well taken care of, Zhuge Liang, though wishing he did not have to, had gone off to see what the outcome of the battle was; and to find Pang Tong. Whether it was to thank him or chastise him, Yue Ying was not sure of. Perhaps she could ask Tong later about their conversation. She was sure that she would probably be seeing a lot of him. He would probably be coming around a lot and bragging about how he had saved her life. While waiting for her husband to return with the outcome of the battle, Ying ended up dozing off…

x-x-x

The sound of other injured souls moaning and groaning around her woke Yue Ying up. Apparently the battle was over, as the tent she was in was full of make-shift beds that contained the wounded. The doctor, who had now multiplied into five men in white uniforms, and his nurses were running around from bed-to-bed, checking on the patients. The flap to the tent was opened and Ying could see that it was dark outside.

'How long have I been sleeping, I wonder?' she thought. It was probably only about mid-afternoon when she was brought here. A nurse was rushing past and noticed that she was awake.

"Lady Yue Ying, you are awake. Are you alright? Does your arm hurt?"

"It really does not hurt that much at the moment. There is a pang every once in awhile, but nothing more. By the way, do you by any chance know where Master Liang is at?" The nurse thought for a moment.

"He did come by here after the battle was over to check on you, but I really have no clue where he is at now. He is most likely in a meeting, but I bet he will come here once it is over. He will probably want to move you to your own tent so you will not be disturbed by everything that is going on around here…" A man nearby began coughing nonstop, so the nurse rushed over to his side to tend to him.

Wanting to know more about the outcome of the battle, Yue Ying willed herself to keep her eyes open until Zhuge Liang returned. It seemed like an eternity before he returned, though the wait probably only lasted another hour or two. After making his appearance, he stopped at the entrance of the tent and looked around for a moment before weaving his way through the maze of bodies and make-shift beds. He finally made it through the crowd and reached his wife's side.

"Do you feel alright?" he asked. To Yue Ying, he looked very tired and a little exasperated.

"I feel fine at the moment. As I told the nurse before, every once in awhile a pang will shoot up my arm, but nothing more than that."

"Hmm… Good. Incase you were wondering, I have been in a meeting with Lord Liu Bei and Lord Sun Jian and his strategists."

'Well that explains the look…' she thought.

"Anyway, perhaps it would be best if you were in our own tent. There will not be as much noise to keep you from sleeping. I am sure that one of the doctors or nurses could take the time to come and check on you periodically to make sure everything is alright…" After speaking with one of the doctors to make sure it was okay to move her, Zhuge Liang helped her maneuver through the maze in the tent as he had down before.

Soon, Yue Ying got settled down in her own bed and Zhuge Liang walked back over to his little makeshift library in the corner. Before he could become engrossed in his studies, Ying decided to ask a question or two about Chi Bi. She didn't ask who had won, for it was obvious who the victors were. When she exited the medical tent, there were groups of men sitting around bonfires. They were drinking themselves into drunken stupors and singing odd little ditties.

"I suppose that Zhao Yun was able to make it in time to help Huang Gai, then?"

"Mm Hmm…"

"I already can guess that we won, but how exactly did the battle end?" Zhuge Liang looked up from his books and stared straight ahead while he spoke. Supposedly, this was so that he wouldn't get messed up by what he was reading and could better concentrate on what he was saying.

"After the fires started, Cao Cao's forces were forced to pull back and our forces mounted a full out attack. Cao Cao knew there was no way he could win with both the fires and the onslaught, so he and his forces retreated." Yue Ying could think of no more to ask about the battle, so she decided to see if she could get him to tell her about what he did to Pang Tong.

"And what of Pang Tong? What did you do to him?"

"Him? Well, of course I thanked him for saving your life. Unfortunately for him, he still broke the rules. He had to be punished." Liang smiled slyly.

"Punish him?" Yue Ying raised her eyebrows. "What exactly did you do to him?"

"Oh, it was nothing too terribly horrifying. You know how much he loves that old donkey of his. I decided he could take care of her, as well as the other horses in all of the stables back at the capital, by mucking out the all of the stalls for a month."

"All of the stalls in all of the stables? That would take him all day!"

"Precisely." Zhuge Liang returned to his studies, leaving the tent in silence, though outside there was still the sound of the men celebrating. After lying awake listening to the sounds outside for awhile, Yue Ying eventually fell back asleep and did not wake up until morning.

x-x-x

It had been three weeks since that night. The armies of Wu and Shu had returned to their own lands two weeks earlier. To Yue Ying, it seemed that time was passing more slowly in the capital than normal. This was most likely caused by the fact that her actions were more limited because of her broken arm. She could no longer go outside and train as she usually did everyday, regardless of the conditions that she would have to train in. All of her friends, like Zhao Yun and Guan Yu and a few other generals, still had to keep up with their day-to-day duties – in which she had been relieved of her own – and therefore didn't have much time to keep her company. Mostly she spent the daylight hours near the stables, keeping Pang Tong company when he took breaks. For someone who had so much work to do, he certainly took a lot of breaks. A few days after noticing this, Yue Ying asked him,

"How are you taking so many breaks and still getting all the work done? I just don't see how that is possible…" Pang Tong laughed.

"It's because I'm not doing all of the work."

"And what, precisely, does that mean?"

"I don't know if I should tell you or not… You might go tattling to that slave driver husband of yours."

"Me? Tattling? Have you mistaken me for someone else? I have never told Master Liang about anything you have done, unless he already knew about it! Remember that one time when you were over at the farm? Master Liang had gone off on another one of his long journeys and was to return later that day. Zhuge Jun was off somewhere, and I was off in town. You decided to take some of the chickens eggs and egg our farmhouse. Unfortunately for you, I returned early and caught you. You begged and begged for me not to tell on you, and did I not agree? Did I not pretend that I had not seen who had done it when Master Liang returned and inquired about it?"

"… Oh, fine! I paid some of the servants around here to help me out. It took a lot of convincing. They were scared of what Zhuge Liang would do if he caught them, but I eventually rounded up a bold few to help." Yue Ying glanced at one of the stables and saw a young boy of about the age of thirteen sticking his head out from the stable.

"More like those who just need the extra money badly…" she muttered. This boy was one who most likely had no father. He probably only took the job so he could bring home more money for his mother, and any siblings he might have, to survive on. The boy spotted Pang Tong and was about to walk over to him, but hesitated when he saw Yue Ying. Tong motioned for the boy to come on over, and so the boy did.

"Master Pang Tong, the stables are clean now…"

"Alrighty. Thanks, kid. You and the others go on now before nasty Zhuge Liang shows up and catches us." The boy nodded and ran back into the stable, returning a moment later with a group that was a mixture of both boys and men. They looked around for a moment before heading off.

"Have you already paid them?" asked Yue Ying.

"Since your husband so generously made me clean the stables for a month, I decided to pay them once a week. It would be harder to pay them everyday. There would be a bigger risk that we would get caught." Pang Tong stood up and looked at the sky. The sky was already beginning to darken. "Well, I'm off now. I got to clean up before supper. Remember, you better not say anything about this to Zhuge Liang!" Yue Ying nodded.

"I will not tell him. Promise. I was actually a bit against him giving you this harsh punishment. Good-night, Pang Tong." She stood up as well and headed off for her own rooms.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHATPER 11 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Guan** - Thanks! Yup, I've heard of the Zhao Yun thing before. But still… It seems unlikely that someone could never get at least a little teeny scratch in battle.

**YueLong** - Thanks! Sorry it took awhile to read, I wrote about 600 words more than normal. And I thought it was going to be shorter than usual…

**zhugeliangsgrl **- Thanks! Yes… 'tis the ever-changing moods of Zhuge… err… sort of… Your story has more reviews than mine! I am jealous-crosses arms and looks away- Just kidding… just kidding. Update soon! Why should I be telling you that? You do update soon, compared to me.


	13. Chapter 12: Frustrations with Zhuge Lian...

Changed my pen name back to shadowwolf5889 again. It's letting me use numbers again. I have no clue what's going on with that. If my pen name ends back up as MalevolentPhantom again, then it's because it's doing that thing again. Well… that is unless someone else has taken that name by then. Also, don't get used to me updating so soon. I had a 4-day weekend and lots of time to waste. I'm shooting for trying to update once every week or two instead of every month, but I'm not sure how that will turn out.

Note: I think it takes about 6 weeks for broken bones to heal? Oh well. If it's not, it is now. Even if it isn't, I did say _about _six weeks, which could mean more if it is more. This chapter isn't very good in my opinion. Sort of boring I think. There's a lot of dialogue, so I hope you guys don't mind and I hope it doesn't get confusing.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors. Blah blah blah blah blah.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 12 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had now been about six weeks since Chi Bi. Yue Ying's arm had finally healed and she no longer had to wear any bandages or splints. She was now able to move it around as she chose, although it was still stiff and weak from being inactive for such a long time. Zhuge Liang still refused to let her train with her scythe. If she wanted to train, she had to use a lighter weapon. Another rule was that he had to be there to watch her. This really didn't make any sense to her. Of course he was trying to make sure that she didn't hurt herself again, but it's not like she was going to work herself up to that point; she would have stopped when her arm started to hurt. Didn't he have any trust in her? Did he not think her responsible enough to care for herself? She sighed and swung the small sword that she now used to train, hitting the sackcloth man stuffed with straw that was hanging from a wooden post. This was _so_ boring. She turned around and looked at Zhuge Liang, who was sitting in a chair nearby and watching her every move.

"Urr…" She groaned when she saw how closely he was watching her. She couldn't train when someone was staring at her like that, so she walked over to him and placed the sword back on the rack where it and a few other various weapons were kept.

"Finished for today?" He asked lazily.

"Yes. I suppose so," she replied, with aggravation present in her voice. Zhuge Liang turned his head to look at her.

"What is the matter?"

"…Nothing," was the response he got as his wife barged through the door that led back into castle and slammed it behind her. Pang Tong just happened to be walking by and had seen the last few minutes of this.

"Wow. She's really mad at you. What's wrong Zhugey? Having marriage problems?" Zhuge Liang glared at him.

"Hmm… Pang Tong. Do you not still have to finish cleaning out the stables?"

"What are you talking about! I finished that about two weeks ago! You said I only had to do that for a month!"

"Yes, but apparently you had help."

"What?" Pang Tong looked offended. "How could you, my dearest friend in the entire world, accuse me of such hideous crimes? I did all that work on my own!"

"I? Your dearest friend? Why, I thought you said I was nasty, and that I was a slave driver!" Pang Tong's mouth dropped open for a minute, he closed it and said, infuriated,

"Did Yue Ying tell you? She promised she wouldn't say anything to you!" Zhuge Liang chuckled.

"Oh no. Yue Ying does keep her promises. What neither of you seemed to realize was that I had one of her handmaids follow her around secretly to make sure she did not do anything to her arm. The maid happened to notice the group you hired to help you. She also happened to overhear the conversation when you told Ying about them." Zhuge Liang's small smile vanished and his face darkened. "So, you _were_ the one who egged my farmhouse. That is what I had suspected… Anyway, you now must once again clean out the stables for another month, alone. Well, except for the guards that I will post to watch you; guards that will not be swayed by your scheming tongue." Pang Tong stared at him.

"If you knew about that, why did you wait until now to tell me?"

"Why, you ask? I was going to let it slid… until you made that comment about my marriage."

"Urg… curse my stupid mouth…" Tong grumbled to himself, and then directed his speech towards Zhuge Liang. "Hey! You promised me that we would have a battle of wits!"

"What of it?"

"I challenge you now, Zhuge Liang! If I win, I don't have to clean the stables; if I lose, then I'll have to," said Pang Tong, and added, "Oh, and if you lose, you have to take my place and clean them!" He grinned mischievously. Zhuge Liang sighed.

"Very well. There is nothing else to do around here now anyway. What do you propose we do for this… battle?" Pang Tong thought for awhile.

"Well… perhaps not _precisely _a battle of wits, but I want to prove that my strategies are just as good as yours, if not better. Sometimes I look at your smug expression and think that just once, I'd like to beat you at your own game."

"I see… Very well. I believe that we should use the extra fortress nearby."

"You mean that one that we use to hold the soldiers that can't be fit in this castle?"

"Yes, that is the one. I am sure that the soldiers there need some training, they should be glad to participate. Even if they are not, we will make them. I will go ask Lord Liu Bei for permission to use it."

"Do you think he'll agree?"

"Probably. I did promise, and a promise is a promise. He will most likely uphold this. If not, I will find a way to persuade him," said Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong nodded,

"Good. Do you know how long it will take?"

"I am not sure. I guess we will just have to find out," replied Zhuge Liang. He stood and walked back inside the castle to see if Liu Bei could spare the time to talk to him about this.

x-x-x

It was later on in the day and Yue Ying was out in the courtyard. There wasn't any particular reason for her to be out there; she had just come to get some fresh air. As she walked along, Pang Tong popped up beside her.

"So… Zhuge Liang found out that I hired servants to help me clean the stables."

"He did? Well, I did not tell him. How did he find out?"

"He had one of your handmaids follow you around during the days when your arm was broken. She noticed the guys helping me, overheard our conversation, and ran straight off to tattle to your precious husband."

"What? He had sent one of my maids to follow me around? Urg!" Yue Ying looked furious.

"Why are you so mad at him?" asked Pang Tong, as he tilted his head to one side.

"I am mad because he does not seem to trust that I know how to take care of myself."

"I can understand that, but he was just trying to make sure you didn't get hurt again. That's also the reason why he won't let you train unless he's watching you."

"I already know that. But still… it makes me mad. I am not going to do anything that will hurt my arm again. I know what my own limits are."

"He's doing it because he cares about you, you know. I wish I had someone like him that cared about me that much, though, of course, I would want a woman and not a man. Don't you think you should consider yourself lucky to have someone like him?" Yue Ying stopped and thought for a moment. Pang Tong was right. She should consider herself lucky. Zhuge Liang really cared about her. There were a lot of other generals around here whose wives – since she was the only female general – didn't really seem to care much about them. They only cared that they had married someone of such high ranking. Although, that was also another reason for her to be lucky. Somehow she had managed to marry a very renowned strategist, despite however "plain" she was considered to be. She sighed.

"I suppose you are right. Thank you, Pang Tong."

"No problem! Now then… See, Zhuge Liang and me are going to have this battle sort of thing. I want to prove that my strategies can beat his. We're going to use that extra fortress that's nearby as our playground. I believe you have some of those Juggernauts over there, don't you? Do you think that maybe I can borrow them since I helped you with that, not to mention that I once saved your life?"

"What? _No way_!" exclaimed Yue Ying.

"Why not? I thought you wanted people to see how useful they were in battle. Wouldn't now be a good time?"

"I guess, but I am not going to just give them to you! You have to take them from me if you want to use them."

"…Does that mean that you're going to be there too?" asked Pang Tong.

"Yes, I must protect my inventions. Besides it would be better, would it not? You would have to find a way to get by me to get the Juggernauts, which is another way for you to prove yourself."

"Well, yes... but, do you think Zhuge Liang will let you go?"

"No, but I do not care. I will go anyway," she said defiantly. "He does not have to know that I am there, now does he?"

"He will find out eventually, and he _will_ be mad."

"So be it. I do not care." Pang Tong shrugged.

"Fine.. Suit yourself. Just don't end up breaking your arm again. See ya later!" He walked off in the direction of the castle, but noticed something and stopped,

"Hey… If you're still mad at Liang, don't look over near the pond, okay?" He said, and then continued walking. Yue Ying looked over in the direction of the pond. There, hiding behind a tree, was one of her handmaids watching her.

"Ugg! He is still having her follow me around?" She asked angrily. The handmaid noticed that she had been spotted and turned around to face the pond. The woman appeared to be whistling, trying to pretend that she hadn't been doing anything. Yue Ying shook her head. She turned around and followed Pang Tong into the castle. If she was going to be watched so closely, she would rather it be done openly by her husband than by a maid spying on her, so she walked up the stairs and to the door that led to her and her husband's room. She opened the door and walked in. Zhuge Liang was sitting at a desk with scrolls scattered around him. He looked up when she entered and watched her as she sat down on the end of the bed. He wanted to say something to her, but didn't know exactly what to say, so he returned to his studies. Yue Ying sat there for a moment before walking over to a shelf and picking up a scroll for her to study as well. She went back over to the bed and laid down, with her head propped up by the headboard and a pillow, and began to read.

A few hours later, Zhuge Liang shook himself from his studies and looked up at her. He smiled and shook his head. She had fallen asleep. Silently, he got up and walked over to her.

'She looks so peaceful when she is asleep…' he thought and carefully removed the scroll from her hands and looked at it. 'Ahh… no wonder she fell asleep. I myself often fall asleep when I read this scroll,' and he placed it back on the shelf. From inside a chest, he pulled out a blanket and went and spread it over Yue Ying before going back over to his desk and continuing his studies.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 12 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next chapter will be based on Pang Tong's legend from DW4: XL, I think. Unless I change my mind. I might do something else. There's two ways I could go with this. Anyway, once again, I hope this chapter wasn't confusing with all the dialogue. You know how it tends to get confusing sometimes when there's a lot.

**zhugeliangsgirl** - Glad you liked it! I thought it was sort of stupid, but then again, I think everything I do is stupid. Wee! You updated your story again!

**CrazyInsanity** - Yup, that is me. Already told you that, but whatever. It's okay that you haven't reviewed much. As long as you are still reading, I don't really care if you review or not.

**Guan** - Yup. It is very a very interesting tale. You actually gave me the idea for this chapter, so thanks! I was going to make it be about the Battle of Luo Castle…


	14. Chapter 13: Battle of Wits I

Most of this chapter is basically based on Pang Tong's legend from DW4: XL. The entire battle isn't in this chapter. I couldn't fit it all in, so the ending is going to be in the next chapter along with… I guess just a day back at the castle like it has been for the past chapter or two.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dynasty Warriors.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxz

CHAPTER 13 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Finally, about a week after Liu Bei had given permission, the fortress was prepared for the battle between Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong. The only thing left to do was to get the soldiers in place. These men were often not used in battle; the only reason they still remained was just incase Liu Bei ever needed any extra men. Since they rarely were in battle, they rarely trained either. They were used to lazing around and doing whatever they wished. Now that they had been forced to participate in the two's own private battle, they were in a very bad mood. As they walked around getting in place, they grumbled to each other and often shot hateful glares at the two who had forced them to do this.

"They don't seem too happy about all of this…" Pang Tong noted as he watched a group pass by him and look at him with the most hate-filled look as possible. Zhuge Liang just shrugged.

"They need the exercise anyway. They will thank us the next time they are forced into battle, which will most likely be soon."

"I wish more had joined my side. The ones that joined you will probably try their hardest to kill me. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if even the ones that are on _my_ side try to kill me," Pang Tong said and cringed as another group passed by that looked at him, looking even more hateful than the last group.

The soldiers had gotten to choose what side they wished to be on, instead of being split up in half. The majority had decided to be on Zhuge Liang's side, for they had heard of his accomplishments since they were widely praised. As for Pang Tong, they knew he was smart as well, but they had not heard as much about his accomplishments. Most of them wished to join what they believed would be the winning side. The minority that joined Pang Tong joined because they either felt sorry for him, or they liked rooting for the 'underdog'.

x-x-x

After everyone was finally in place, the battle began. Pang Tong stood out to the west of the fortress and looked around. One of his scouts ran up to him and bowed.

"Lord Pang Tong! There is a weapon supply depot to the west of where we stand. Apparently, there are a few Juggernauts there."

"Juggernauts, eh? I'm guessing that's where Yue Ying is at then…" Pang Tong said thoughtfully and turned around to the group of soldiers that were with him. "Alright, men. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to go to that western weapon depot and get those Juggernauts. You guys will take care of the soldiers, but don't touch Yue Ying if she's there; I'll handle her myself. Zhuge Liang would kill me if he knew that I let her get hurt again…" The soldiers nodded and ran off after him once he headed off towards the west.

Upon reaching the closed gates that, if opened, led to the depot, Pang Tong was greeted by a group of Zhuge Liang's soldiers. Liang had known that the Juggernauts were there, so he made sure to leave some men to guard the gates.

"Well, this shouldn't take too long…" Pang Tong thought out loud before he and his own group of men met the opposing soldiers. The guard captain swung his sword at Tong, who easily blocked it with his staff.

"Oh, come on! My _grandmother _can swing harder than _that_!" he taunted, grinning mischievously at the guard captain, who, in turn, looked very offended and tried to push his opponent back. Pang Tong held his ground and sent a shock of electricity through his staff, which was absorbed by the metal sword. The shock quickly traveled through the sword and hit the guard captain, who fell down to the ground in pain, unable to fight anymore.

"Sorry… Just be glad I know enough about lightening attacks to know how much a person can take without dieing," said Pang Tong, looking genuinely apologetic. He stepped over the man and through the gates that had now opened. His soldiers, who had outnumbered those guarding the gates by at least double, had already taken care of their own opponents and followed after their general.

After running towards the back of the depot, the Juggernauts became visible, along with Yue Ying and her guards. Pang Tong walked a little closer to them.

"So then… you did decide to come after all. This is going to make Zhuge Liang _really_ mad when he finds out, you know."

"I already told you before, I do not care! Now, if you want to use my Juggernauts, you will have to defeat me first!" said Yue Ying, her voice full of confidence. Pang Tong just shrugged like he always did.

"Fine, fine, fine… Just make sure that husband of yours doesn't kill me if you end up breaking your arm again or something."

"Do not worry. I will take full responsibility for it if I do happen to get injured, but I highly doubt that I will."

"Hmm… Don't you thing you're being a little overconfident? You aren't invincible, you know."

"Of course I know that!" snapped Yue Ying . "You want to use these Juggernauts, do you not? Then come on before time runs out! You don't have a whole lot of time."

"What do you mean I don't have a whole lot of time?"

"You only have a certain amount of time to put your strategies into play, you know that. Now come on!"

"Jeez! Alright! Let's do it!" Pang Tong said and rushed at her. Ying sidestepped and avoided the attack. One of the nearby Juggernauts shot out its flames at Tong, catching his hat on fire.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! That's hot!" The strategist began running around beating himself on top of the head with his hands. Yue Ying stood and watched his comical act for a few moments before ripping the hat off the top of his head. She threw it down to the ground and stomped on it until the flames went out. Pang Tong scratched his head, making sure that his hair was still there.

"Huh, those Juggernauts really can be a nuisance," he mumbled. "Well, I suppose I should thank you for saving my head, but you ruined my hat! Just look at it! It's all bent out of shape now!" He complained, picking it up off of the ground and beating it to get the dust off. He noticed that there was no ring of metal from the soldiers fighting anymore. He turned around and looked out of curiosity and found the men staring at him with their mouths hanging wide open.

"What's the matter? Never seen me without my hat and mask on before, have you? I beat you didn't know how handsome I really was, now did you? The only reason why I wear the silly thing is because it makes me seem more mysterious. Plus, it keeps most of the women from fighting over me, like they do with Zhao Yun." A few more minutes passed while the soldiers continued staring at him. He growled, a bit aggravated at them now. "Stop staring would you! It's not like it's all _that _amazing is it?" He turned and asked Yue Ying, who shrugged. She had seen him without his hat on many times, so it was nothing new to her. She had to admit, though, that if you had never seen him without it on before, that you would be surprised when you finally did. He looked completely opposite from what you would expect. Most thought that he wore the hat because he was unattractive, but in reality, he was actually quite handsome.

"Alright then, let's get going again, shall we?" He asked, pulling his hat back onto his head and retying the cloth around his nose and mouth. Yue Ying sighed and looked at her scythe. She actually didn't feel like fighting much at the moment; she was feeling a little bit on the queasy side.

"No… I do not really feel like fighting at the moment. Just take the Juggernauts; consider it a gift."

"What? Are you serious? You don't feel like fighting? But you love to fight! What's up?" asked Pang Tong, a little concerned. Yue Ying shook her head.

"It is nothing really. I just don't feel like fighting right now, is there a problem with that? Now, take the Juggernauts and get going before I change my mind."

"Yes, my lady!" shouted Tong, saluting her. "Come on fellows, let's get out of here and get on with our mission!" He called out to his soldiers and walked out of the weapon depot with his men and the Juggernauts following close behind.

x-x-x

The next step of Pang Tong's strategy had already been completed. He and his soldiers had sealed the northwest and southwest strongholds. Now, they were heading from the northwest stronghold over to the eastern side. From what a scout told them, there were some siege ramps in the eastern weapon depot. Along the way there, Pang Tong was greeted by a few arbalests that had been set up.

'Oh my… This could be trouble. I've always hated those darned things.' He thought. 'I guess my guys and I should take out that task force over there, but we've got to get around these things without being shot first. It would be pretty easy for me to get over there if I used a shielding charm, but I'd have to leave my guys over here… Yes, I suppose that's what I'll have to do.' He turned around to his soldiers and said, "Okay men, I'm going to go take out that task force. I can get over there by using a shield charm, but I can't protect you guys with it. That means that you'll have to stay over here until I take out the task force, alright?" His soldiers nodded, and Tong set off towards the task force with a sort of silvery transparent orb now surrounding him.

The arbalests shot out their arrows at him, but they just bounced harmlessly off of his shield and fell to the ground. Pang Tong quickly got past them and took out the task force without any problem. He turned around and motioned to his soldiers, who began to come hesitantly at first, but speed up when they were confident that the arbalests wouldn't be shooting any arrows at them.

"Alright, then. Let's get over to that weapon depot and get us some siege ramps!" said Pang Tong enthusiastically after his men had crossed over and reached him…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxz

CHAPTER 13 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yue Ying didn't feel like fighting? What is up with that? Only I know! I think… I might change my mind about what I'm going to do. Anyway…

**zhugeliangsgrl** - I think both Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong are smart… I like both of them. If you take military strategy alone, Pang Tong was the best. Zhuge Liang was more of a domestic officer. You'll just have to wait and see what happens next… I know who I had originally intended to win, but I might change my mind and do something else.

**YueLong** - Thanks! Yup yup, it's very annoying to be followed around. Of course, I don't really know from personal experience, but it annoys the crap out of my brothers when I follow them!


	15. Chapter 14: Battle of Wits II

Whoopsie! I forgot in the last chapter near the end that the Juggernauts were following Pang Tong as well. I… forgot about them. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed that, or if it even matters much, but let's just pretend that I had said both the soldiers and Juggernauts were following Pang Tong.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dynasty Warriors.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 14 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Finally the group of men and Juggernauts had reached the eastern weapon depot. They had been met by another group of arbalests, two siege ramps, and a defense force. After taking out the defense force, Pang Tong stopped before getting close to the arbalests and looked around, as if trying to detect something.

"Err… Is something the matter?" asked one of the soldiers, who looked around trying to figure out what he was looking for.

"Hmm… Zhuge Liang has set up a trap here, I believe. I don't know what it is, but be on your guard." The men nodded and followed Pang Tong as he started to take small, cautious steps towards the arbalests. They reached the arbalests, the soldiers looking like they thought Pang Tong was crazy for the way he was walking. Pang Tong slowly put his left foot an inch ahead of his right and then jumped back and yelled,

"Run away! It's a trap!" to his men before fleeing himself. They had just barely gotten out of the way when the arbalests blew up in a fiery explosion. The soldiers stared at the smoldering remains of the arbalests with their mouths wide open, thankful that their leader knew how to somehow detect the trap.

"Wow! I could have had my hat set on fire again!" Pang Tong exclaimed.

"I think you would have had more than just your hat set on fire…" replied one of the soldiers. Pang Tong shrugged.

"Ahh… Let's see about those siege ramps." He walked over to the two siege ramps and examined them. "Well, they are a bit damaged, but they are still useable. So then, let's get going. We'll have to protect the siege ramps until they get into position and are raised so we can get into that fortress and kick Kongming's butt!"

"Right!" yelled the soldiers. The group of men split off and ran along each side of the siege ramps as they made their slow way towards the walls, with the Juggernauts trailing behind.

Along the way, groups of Zhuge Liang's troops ran out, trying to attack and destroy the siege ramps, for they had been given orders to do so after Liang heard word that the siege ramps had been taken. Pang Tong's men ran alongside what they were aiming to protect and were doing a good job of it. The Juggernauts spun around on their wheels and shot flames out at the enemies without a thought to what they were hitting. It was sheer luck that they didn't manage to catch the siege ramps or anyone besides the enemy on fire. Pang Tong himself ran around the siege ramps in a circle, trying to either knock the enemy soldiers out with his staff, or trying to place a paralyzation spell on them.

After a good long while of fighting, the siege ramps finally got into position, but it would still take awhile before they were completely raised and could be walked up into the fortress. Pang Tong, his men, and the Juggernauts continued fighting off Zhuge Liang's men.

"Darn it! Why the heck do these things take so long to raise? I swear I'm going to invent faster moving ones one day!" Pang Tong yelled as he fought off the enemy.

"That would be very appreciated, Lord Pang Tong!" called one of his soldiers. "Hey! Look! The siege ramps are finally up!"

"Really?" Pang Tong looked up for a second, saw that they were indeed completely raised, and looked back down at his opponents. He charged through the enemies and began running up the nearest ramp. After getting halfway up it, he turned and called out to his soldiers,

"Come on! Forget about them! Get up here, guys!" His men rushed through their opponents and ran up the siege ramps to join their general. "See ya later!" Pang Tong called out to Zhuge Liang's men and added, "Have fun playing with the Juggernauts!" when he saw one of the enemy soldiers running around with a smoking turban on. He turned around and continued his journey up the ramp. Once they cleared the ramp, he and his men ran along the walls of the fortress, looking for the stairs that would lead them off.

"Ah! There they are!" called Pang Tong, pointing over to where the stairs were. "Watch out for those enemies that are coming up them!" The men changed their direction and ran for the stairs, plowing into the enemies that met them along the way.

x-x-x

Taking a break from Pang Tong's quest, we find Zhuge Liang pacing around looking quite angry at something.

"I told you not to do anything like training unless I was there watching you and you had my permission, and yet here you are in a battle! Do you not think that if I would not let you train alone that I would let you fight in a battle alone? What were you _thinking_?" Yue Ying stood with her eyes cast downwards, listening to the chastisement from her husband.

"But, I did not fight… I already told you that. The only thing I did was take a quick sidestep to evade Pang Tong's attack and that was all," she said quietly, defending herself rather poorly; she didn't feel like arguing at the moment. Besides, even if she did feel like it, she knew she wouldn't have won against Zhuge Liang anyway. He always won arguments. Liang sighed and stopped pacing to look out over at the fortress walls. He could make out Pang Tong barging through his soldiers, speedily making his way down the stairs.

"Hmm… It looks as though we shall have company soon…" he muttered before continuing pacing in front of his wife. His anger was beginning to subside and curiosity began to replace it. His wife loved to fight. Why did she give up so easily? "And why, pray tell, did you not fight anymore than that?" he asked, stopping his pacing and turning to watch his wife, who shrugged.

"I just did not feel like fighting. Is there a problem with that?"

"For most people, that it is not a problem. You, on the other hand, love to fight and train and do other things of that sort. Why did you not feel like fighting?" Yue Ying was silent for a moment, trying to think up of something clever to say to fool him, though she knew that was impossible. She finally found something to say, but she knew that he would see right through her.

"I did not want to fight because I knew that you would be mad at me, and I do not want to make you mad at me, my husband," she said, throwing a false, but still deceiving, smile at him. Zhuge Liang was taken off guard for a second, looking momentarily embarrassed, before regaining his composure. He knew she was lying; there was no way she could be telling the truth. She often did things in the past, even though she knew it would make him mad.

"Yes, I am _sure_ that is the reason," he said dryly. "Come now, tell me the truth. If you do not, you know I can place a hypnotizing spell on you and get it out." Yue Ying sighed.

"All right. I did not feel like fighting because I felt sort of sick and queasy, like I was going to throw up or something." Zhuge Liang's face showed a bit of concern. His wife almost never got sick, but when she did, she usually got really sick.

"Do you still feel sick?"

"A little bit, yes."

"Hmm… I see." By this time, Pang Tong and his men had reached them.

"There you are, Zhuge!" Tong called out as he ran up panting, sliding to a halt in front of Liang. Zhuge Liang smiled at him.

"Ah… Pang Tong! There you are! To be honest, you have astounded me! I did not think you to be powerful enough to make it this far!" Pang Tong shook his head.

"Come on! You could have at least _tried_ to sound sincere when you spat out that lie! You knew perfectly well I could make it this far!" He caught sight of Yue Ying. "Oh, hello, Ying! I see you came here instead of going home. You know, Zhuge Liang probably would have never found out about this if you had gone home…" Liang cleared his throat.

"And she probably would have gone home if that maid I had ordered to follow her had not come and told me."

"You still have that bit-…" Pang Tong caught sight of the said maid standing near Ying, with her arms crossed and giving him a deathly glare. "I… mean… beautiful lady! You still have that beautiful ,wonderful lady following her around?"

"Mm… Well, actually, I told her that she could stop doing that, but apparently she has not…" Liang shot the woman a tired look. He knew that the woman was trying to find a way to make his wife look bad so she could try and win his heart. He shook his head and sighed. Why hadn't he chosen the other maid, the one that was married?

"Uh-huh… Well, anyway, what do you say we finish up here, Zhuge? We'll have a duel and the winner of that will be the winner of our little battle."

"Hold on a minute, Tong. I was talking to Yue Ying before I was interrupted." Liang turned back around and faced his wife. "Do you feel well enough to stay until I am finished up here, or do you need to go home now?"

"I…" Yue Ying began, who didn't know what to say. She really felt like she was going to throw up now. Just as she thought that, that was exactly what she did.

"Ugh… Well, I think that answers your question," commented Pang Tong. Zhuge Liang glanced at him with his brow furrowed before stepping forward to his wife.

"Come on, then, Yue Ying. Let's get you home." He wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders and helped her walk off towards one of the horses that had been tethered nearby.

"Sorry, Pang Tong," he said as he passed by, "I guess we will have to continue this later."

"Delays, delays, delays!" groaned Pang Tong. He shrugged, "Oh well, I can understand the excuse _this_ time."

As Zhuge Liang walked with his wife, he began to think of what could be wrong with her.

'Of course, it could just be a simple stomach bug,' he thought, and an idea hit him. 'Wait! Could she be…? …I suppose it is possible… We will just have to wait and see.'

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 14 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And that's the end of that chapter. I hope it wasn't bad and boring, I wrote it in like two days, so... yeah. Gosh, I have no clue about how I am going to do the next chapter. I have no knowledge about that except for the basic things… If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you will know in the next chapter.

**Pyromaniac Lu Xun -** Hiya! Thanks for reviewing! That's okay that you haven't reviewed earlier. You don't have to review if ya don't want. I haven't even reviewed anything of yours before_-blushes-_ Must try to remember to do that sometime.

**Tdino -** Glad you like it! Yup. I generally try to keep the outcome of the battles in the way that the game has them, but sometimes I do like to change things around.

**Guan -** You always guess things right… How do you know?

**CrazyInsanity -** Yup yup! Pang Tong rules! I was actually never considering letting Zhuge win. I was either going to make Pang win or do it where the fight wasn't finished and it turned into like a draw… in which I chose the latter.

**zhugeliangsgrl -** Well, I didn't make Pang Tong win, heh. Sorry, but I don't think that I'm going to kill him off, maybe just injure him. I need him to add humor to the story. It's no fun unless I can have Pang Tong to mess around with. Anyway, as for why Pang Tong is the better military strategist, I truthfully don't know. I've just read it in a lot of places. I asked on the board about it and got some answers, but it's too much for me summarize in such a sort amount of space.


	16. Chapter 15: Tempers

I'm probably going to be a bit behind in my fics for awhile. I haven't had as much time on the computer lately to type things up. Plus, I haven't been inspired lately to write. It takes awhile sometimes, but during these periods of writer's blocks, I usually get hit by inspiration a few days after I state that I have it and thus cannot continue writing, so no problems… hopefully. Okay, now back to talking about this chapter. I gave the doctor a name because I didn't feel like saying "the doctor" over and over again.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dynasty Warriors.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 15 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Zhuge Liang sat in a chair in his room, staring thoughtfully out of the window and into the night sky. It had been three days since the so-called "battle" with Pang Tong and every morning Yue Ying would have spells where she would throw up. This was not limited to only the morning, but it was much rarer during the other parts of the day. He had not yet spoken to her about the possibility of what her "illness" could be since she herself had not seemed to have thought of that. Only about ten minutes ago, she had gone down to see one of the doctors in the castle to see what this supposed illness was. Zhuge Liang sighed and stood up, opening up the window to let in the night breeze.

'I suppose we shall find out soon if my suspicions are correct…' He thought. He looked up at the stars to see if he could read anything in them. Tonight, however, they decided to keep their secrets of the future locked away in their own mysteriousness and not allow men's prying eyes to view it. Shaking his head, Liang closed the window again and walked over to his desk. After shuffling around the papers on his table, he walked back over to the chair near the window and sat back down again.

A few minutes later, a knock sounded at the door to Zhuge Liang's room. He jumped out of his chair at the sound, for he had once again become absorbed in his thoughts. He muttered something to himself before walking over the door. He hesitated before opening it. What if it was Yue Ying? He shook his head. No, no… She would have just come in without knocking, it was her room as well. Opening the door, he found himself faced with Pang Tong.

"Hmm… What do _you_ want?" He asked coldly, as he looked down at his friend.

"Wow! That's the nicest thing anyway has ever said to me! I feel so loved!" Pang Tong said, adding a fake sniff. He pushed back Zhuge Liang and walked into the room.

"And did I _say_ you could come in?"

"What's biting you, Liang? Why are you so uptight tonight? You know I always come to your room and annoy you on the third day of the week." Pang Tong sat down in a chair and propped his feet up on a table. Zhuge Liang walked up behind him and pulled out the chair he was sitting on. Pang Tong's arms flailed through the air as he came crashing down onto the hard floor.

"Ow!" He said as he rubbed his sore behind. "What the heck was that for? I didn't do anything!" Liang just shrugged a little before walking back over to the window. Pang Tong stood up and readjusted his hat, which had fallen out of place during his fall.

"Hmm… I see. I bet you just have a shorter temper than normal because there's a chance Yue Ying might be pregnant, eh?" Zhuge Liang whirled around to look at him.

"What? How did you know about that?" He demanded, looking quite angry now. Had Yue Ying really known all along, but had just not told him? Pang Tong laughed at his anger, not really taking it seriously. He did not know the thoughts that ran through Zhuge Liang's mind.

"I don't know if I should tell you or not…" He said slowly, scratching his chin as if thinking. Liang rushed forward, grabbing the collar of Tong's shirt and roughly lifting him off of the ground a few inches.

"I said, how did you know about that? Who told you?" He asked once again, his voice menacing, and his eyes slanted in anger. Pang Tong realized his mistake and began to sweat nervously, his heart pounding in his chest; Zhuge Liang could be quite frightening when mad.

"I… Err… No one told me, my dear friend! I… found it by… Umm… Well, you remember how I can use that old seer trick? That's how I found out. No one told me anything! I swear it!" Pang Tong replied, looking down at the floor which looked very precious to him at the moment. "Now… Could you please put me down?" He asked, looked back at Zhuge Liang who had calmed down quite a lot. He cleared his throat, looking apologetic, and gently placed Pang Tong's feet back on the ground.

"Yes… I am truly sorry about that my friend. I am just nervous at the moment." Pang Tong removed his hat and rubbed his sweat-covered forehead.

"Whew! That's okay… You really had me scared there for a moment! What brought on that assault?" Zhuge Liang shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Oh, it was just that I thought Yue Ying did actually know that she could be pregnant and had told you and not me. It just irritated me a little when I thought that she might have done that…"

"A little irritated?" Pang Tong snorted. "Whatever you say, Zhuge. Hey, but what do you think about it? What if Yue Ying really is pregnant? Are you ready for a child?" Zhuge Liang turned and walked back over to the window, once again considering the question that had been on his mind for the past while: Was he ready for a child? He sighed.

"I do not know if I am ready or not. I suppose I did want one eventually to carry on my name, but I had not planned on one so soon… I was hoping to have one when there was more peace in the land so I would have more time to spend with it." Pang Tong nodded in agreement.

"I hear you. Though, I bet that when you do have a child, whether it be soon or in the future, that you will not regret it. I myself have not experienced the pleasure of fatherhood, but I have spoken to many men who have. They always seem quite ecstatic about their children." Zhuge Liang nodded and continued contemplating.

x-x-x

Yue Ying sat in the room where the doctor she was visiting had set up her office. The doctor, Lin Qi, was not on her favorites list, but the other doctors had no time to see her. The one she was visiting now was a woman, and one who specialized mostly in the affairs of women. Of all the luck, eh? Well, anyway, the doctor was out of the room, apparently analyzing the information to conclude the type of "illness" that her patient had. Ying looked around impatiently; it was taking this woman forever! How long did it take for her to conclude that she had a stomach bug, or some other common sickness? Finally, Lin Qi reentered the room and sat down opposite of her patient.

"Well then, my Lady, I have finished my analysis."

"What is it then?" Yue Ying snapped, her patience starting to waver. How long did she have to stay in this godforsaken place? Lin Qi smiled quite wickedly. Her patient was said to be smart, yet she had not yet figured out the obvious. She too, like many of the women in the castle, held a grudge against Yue Ying for somehow landing Zhuge Liang.

"Why, do you not know what it is, my Lady? I thought that someone like _you_ would certainly be able to figure it out themselves!" She said, trying to sound innocent and sweet while saying this. Yue Ying scowled; she really should have just waited until one of the other doctors could see her.

"Just tell me already, alright? I do not know what is wrong with me! Does that make you happy? _Now tell me_!" Lin Qi sniffed.

"How rude..." she muttered. Yue Ying's eyes blazed in anger at this comment.

"Rude? Why you - "

"Fine! I will tell you. Just stop yelling!" the doctor cut her off. "You are not sick at all. You are pregnant, my Lady." Lin Qi's face twisted when she said the last line, as if she were disgusted by that fact.

"Wh...What?" Yue Ying's eyes now opened wide in shock. "Pre...pregnant?"

"Yes, that is what I said." Lin Qi answered in an annoyed tone. "You are around ten weeks are so. I am surprised that you did not find out by yourself sooner." Yue Ying sat, quite shocked by this knowledge, and began to think about it. It really should have been obvious to her. She had noticed that she had gained a little weight, though she had just dismissed this as the result of her being inactive for so long due to her arm. Another fact of evidence was that she had not had her period in awhile. This she had also dismissed. She often trained and exercised rigorously and this often pushed it back further than most women's. She shook her head. How was she going to tell Zhuge Liang? Lin Qi cleared her throat and brought Ying out of her thoughts.

"Well, you know now. Go on and leave now, why don't you? I am sure your husband will be very happy," she said, hissing the last of her words.

'I do not know about that...' thought Yue Ying as she stood up to leave. 'We have never talked about children before... What if he does not like them, or what if he does like them but does not want any of his own?' She walked out of the room and slowly walked back towards her own with thoughts clouding her mind.

x-x-x

Zhuge Liang was pacing around his room. He was beginning to feel very anxious. Pang Tong once again sat in a chair with his feet propped up on a table. He watched as Liang paced around.

"You're making me dizzy! Sit down and relax!" he exclaimed. Liang just shook his head.

"I cannot... Where is she _at_?" he asked, exasperated. Pang Tong closed his eyes.

"She might be coming now. I think I hear someone walking this way."

"What? You have good hearing, but you cannot hear well enough to hear someone walking down the hallway!" Liang scoffed. However, just as he made that statement, the door opened and his wife walked into the room. He stopped pacing and looked at her, and then at Pang Tong, who grinned visibly now that his hat and mask were off and laying on the table.

"I told you! Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going." He pulled his hat back on and tied the cloth back around his face before waving and walking towards the door. Yue Ying stepped out of the doorway and closed the door behind him. Zhuge Liang cleared his throat and tried to act natural by walking over to his desk and once again shuffling around was on it.

"So then, what did the doctor say? Is it just a stomach bug as you thought? Or is it something else?" Yue Ying walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. She sighed, trying to quickly think of how to tell him.

"Umm... Well, I suppose you could say it is a stomach bug in a sense..." Zhuge Liang chuckled quietly at this comment.

"My suspicions must be correct then," He said softly, mostly to himself.

"Oh? And what were your suspicions?" Yue Ying asked.

"Hm? Well, you are pregnant, are you not?" Liang looked over at her with a smirk. Yue Ying was taken aback.

"Yes, but... how did you know?" Zhuge Liang just shrugged. He put his hands behind his back and walked over to the window, starring out of it and into the sky.

"I do not know. It was just as a said: a suspicion..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 15 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Tdino** - Yup yup, it was very considerate of him too! Heh, that's right! Let's see if I can pull it off…

**zhugeliangsgrl** - Yup yup. You didn't come out rude at all, you were just asking. Hehe, I consider you one of my 'online' friends as well. Yes, I am wondering how he guessed as well… Hmm…

**Phantom-Koinu** - Thanks! Yup yup! Zhuge and Yue are the best couple ever! I just wish more people liked the pairing...

**CrazyInsanity** - Yup yup. Okay… That's the fourth time I'm said "yup yup". I need new lines… Err, anyways… Heh. Smart but slow… That sounds like me!


	17. Chapter 16: A Bad Omen

Alrighty then, it's time for the next chapter. As I stated before, I really don't know a whole lot about pregnancy (as I have obviously never been pregnant) except for the basics, so excuse me if something is wrong. I'll probably just end up skipping around a lot since I won't be writing about the entire nine months. Oh wows…. Automatically skip to the middle why don't I…Oh, and I don't know if people back then knitted, but they do now. Sorry.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dynasty Warriors, obviously.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 16 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been about two months since it had been found out that Yue Ying was pregnant, meaning that she was now about four and a half months along. Currently, Liu Bei had taken some of his generals and gone off to take over Luo Castle. Obviously, Yue Ying could not go along with them, or if she did, she could not fight. Not seeing the use in going to just sit around and wait for news of the victor, she decided to stay back at the castle. Zhuge Liang would have normally gone along with Liu Bei, but had decided not to this time so that he could stay back home with his wife. Instead, Pang Tong went in his place.

Liu Bei was still a bit skeptical about Pang Tong's abilities, and had been secretly sending letters to Zhuge Liang about Tong's ideas and plans before trying to do anything. Liang had, of course, read over them carefully and always replied to Liu Bei that he should trust Pang Tong. Often, Liang would open up a map of the area and would also look in his books for information about it.

'I bet he wishes he could have gone,' thought Yue Ying one afternoon when she saw him doing this. 'He loves coming up with strategies. I suppose that now he is just trying to go over the plans that Pang Tong has made and see if they will work from what he knows of the place.' She turned back around and looked at what she was trying to make. With having an extra life inside of her, there was not much that she could do without endangering it. To pass the time, she had actually learned from one of maids how to knit. Her work was hardly above satisfactory, but it still gave her something to do. At the moment, she was working on trying to knit a blanket for her child to use when it was born. It was actually going quite well. As she continued working on it, from behind her, Zhuge Liang suddenly jumped up from his desk.

"No!" He shouted. Yue Ying jumped, not expecting this sudden outburst. She turned around and looked at him. He was glaring at a page in one of his books.

"Uh, what is the matter?" She asked, looking at him questioningly. He shook his head and sat back down again.

"I must write a letter and get it to him at once!" He mumbled before walking over to the door that led out into the hallway. "Servant!" He called loudly and soon one of the servants came scurrying from somewhere down the hall to come see what he needed. Liang quickly walked back to his desk with the servant following. Grabbing a piece of blank parchment, he dipped his quill in the inkwell and hastily scribbled something on the parchment. After he finished writing, he picked it up and started swishing it through the air, trying to dry the ink faster, even though it would probably start to run and smear from this as well. After doing this for a few seconds, he shoved the parchment at the servant.

"Take this to the swiftest messenger in town. Tell him to take this letter to Lord Liu Bei and tell him to ride as fast as his horse can carry him!" Zhuge Liang told the servant, who nodded and ran out of the room and closed the door behind him. Yue Ying stood up from where she had been sitting and placed her knitting on the table.

"What was that about? What is wrong?" She asked, starting to worry even though she did not yet know what was wrong. Zhuge Liang sighed and turned around, shaking his head and looking quite tired. He sat down on the edge of the bed and started to rub his temples. Yue Ying sat down beside of him and watched him, waiting for an answer to the question she had already asked twice. Her husband shook his head again before answering,

"In the last few letters that Lord Liu Bei has sent, he told me about Pang Tong's strategies to take Luo Castle. Well, just now I was reading up about the terrain and such of the area around Luo Castle to try and walk through Pang's plans. As I was doing so, I noticed something in my book. A certain hill that Pang Tong is going to go over had another name, a name that not many remember anymore… It is a bad omen for him, Ying…" He answered, shaking his head again. Yue Ying put a hand on his shoulder, worried about her old friend Pang Tong.

"And… what exactly is the name of this hill?"

"The name of it is Fallen Phoenix Slope…" Yue Ying gasped. This was not good at all! Oh why must Pang Tong have been named The Fledgling Phoenix out of all of the other names?

"Oh no! I hope the message gets to Liu Bei in time so he can stop Pang Tong from going there…" said Yue Ying. "But wait, you can use telepathy, can you not? Why did you not use that? It would have been much quicker."

"Yes, I can use it. The only thing is that there are restrictions. I can only speak to someone within a mile radius of myself, in which Liu Bei and Pang Tong are not within that radius," answered Zhuge Liang. He stood up and walked back over the window to look out of it. The season was beginning to change into the fall. The green leaves were changing into the colors of red, orange and yellow, and the dead brown as well.

"Well, I suppose there is no need in worrying over it at the moment. I just hope Pang Tong takes the letter seriously…" He said, putting his arms behind his back and watching a few leaves break off of their tree limbs and drift to the ground.

x-x-x

A few days later, a reply returned from Liu Bei. A servant boy knocked on the door to Zhuge Liang's room and Yue Ying opened it to answer.

"Hello, Lady Yue Ying. Is Master Zhuge Liang here? I have a message for him…"

"No, he is not here at the moment. The last I heard from him was that he was going down to the library to research something. I am not sure if he is still there or not, but perhaps you should go down and see. If he is not there and you cannot find him, then just come back here and I will give it to him when he returns," Yue Ying replied. The servant nodded and walked off to go find Zhuge Liang.

Not too long after that, Zhuge Liang came bursting through the door, once again making Yue Ying, who was trying to work on her knitting, jump. He stormed into the room and over to the desk, which he hit the top of in his anger.

"Argh! Why must he act so childish!" He fumed and gritted his teeth. Yue Ying stood up as he began pacing around the room and throwing a few things into a chest.

"Why? What is it?" she asked. This was the angriest she had ever seen him; she had not seen or heard of the incident with him and Tong two months ago, so she obviously couldn't have said that was the angriest she had ever seen her husband.

"What is it? That idiot Pang Tong thinks that I am just jealous of him coming up with that strategy to take Luo Castle! He has never heard of the name Fallen Phoenix Slope, so he therefore automatically assumes that I am just trying to mess him up!" He said, still grabbing items like books and clothes and throwing them untidily into the chest. After grabbing one last thing and throwing it in, he closed and latched the chest.

"I am sorry, Ying, but I must go and try to stop him before he does something stupid. And… if worse comes to worse, so that I can help Liu Bei come up with a way to take Luo Castle." He walked over to her and put his arms around her. He gave her a kiss and then hugged her for a moment before letting go. Walking back over to the chest, he grabbed the handles and moved it over to the door. Opening the door, he once again called for a servant to come.

"Take this chest downstairs for me and call ten of the fastest horsemen here to quickly get ready for battle and join me down there," He ordered once another servant boy popped up from down the hallway. The boy bowed and started trying to carry the chest, but found it to heavy and began to drag it instead. "Be careful going down the stairs with that! You had better not damage anything!" Zhuge Liang called to the boy. He turned back around to face Yue Ying.

"I will see you later, Ying. Hopefully when I return, it will be with that idiot riding his donkey beside of me." Yue Ying nodded.

"Goodbye, and please be careful. I will pray for both your and Pang Tong's safe return." Turning back around, Zhuge Liang walked out of the room and closed the door.

x-x-x

Only an hour after the past written events, Zhuge Liang rode out of the city on the fastest horse available with his ten horsemen following. They headed off to find Liu Bei's camp, with Pang Tong hopefully still in it. From the window in her room, which was quite high up in the castle, Yue Ying could see out and past the gate of the city. She watched as her husband rode off, and did just as she told him she would do, she prayed for both his and Pang Tong's safe return.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 16 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

There ya have it, chapter sixteen. Oh, and please excuse me for calling Pang Tong an idiot! Please? I'm sorry if this chapter was bad or something. I somehow wrote like all of it in three hours, so I'm not too sure of it's worth. It's also about one hundred words shorter than normal, but I'm sure you guys don't really care about that…

**CrazyInsanity -** Yes yes, poor Tong. I wish I didn't have had to do that, but he was the only person that I could think of that would go and visit Zhuge all the time. It's just his luck I guess…. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

**Tdino -** Yup yup! Thanks for reviewing!

**zhugeliangsgrl -** If you were Zhuge you would…? Heh, oh well. Yup yups. Thanks for reviewing!


	18. Chapter 17: The Return of the Army

Alrighty then, time for yet another chapter. I probably won't be updating anything as much as I have been once I get DW5, just to let you know. Okay, so anyways, I didn't really feel like writing a whole lot about the battle since Ying isn't in it and she is like the main character, or supposed to be anyways. There is a place where there is a short flashback of part of the battle, but that's it. Umm… Well, I didn't really know how long the battle would take, so I just said they were gone for a week. I hope that works.

**Note:** The flashback is in italics.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dynasty Warriors, same as it always is.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 17 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A week after Zhuge Liang had left for Luo Castle, Yue Ying was strolling around outside in the courtyard. More of the leaves had fallen from the trees as Fall began to draw nearer and they crunched under her feet as she walked. There wasn't really a lot of things to do anymore. She had given up on knitting about three days ago; it just wasn't her thing and it was quite a boring task. Something else she could have done was read, but, believe it or not, that was actually starting to get a little boring as well.

After walking around a bit more, she decided to walk over to the stables and visit that black stallion of hers that had carried her during Chi Bi. Pushing open the doors, she walked along the hall of stalls. Doing so reminded her of the bet that Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang had made. The loser of their little "battle" was to clean out the stalls. Seeing as neither had won, apparently the whole deal was forgotten because she had not heard anymore about it. She stopped and opened up the door to one of the stalls before walking inside.

"Hello, my old friend," she whispered to the stallion. Most generals tended to have many different horses to use, and therefore only named their favorites. This horse was her favorite, but she had never actually gotten around to naming it for some reason. "I suppose I really should give you a name… I shall call you Midnight, since the caretakers already gave it to you. Besides, you seem to like it well enough."

The stallion snorted and snuffled over his owner happily. It had been ages since the last time he saw her! He could tell that there was something different about her… But what was it? Oh, yes! That was it! He took his nose and gently nudged her stomach with it, wondering why it was bigger than it used to be. Yue Ying laughed at her horse and began to rub his head. He nickered softly and stretched his neck out so she could rub it as well. She picked up a nearby currycomb and began to brush him with it. This she did for a few minutes before she heard a commotion going on outside. Dropping the currycomb, she closed the door to Midnight's stall and exited the stable.

"Lady Yue Ying!" called out one of the servants who happened to be running by. "I have been looking for you! The army has returned from Luo Castle," he said, bowing to her. Yue Ying nodded and the servant ran off again. She looked around and decided to follow the group of people that all seemed to be heading towards the castle gates.

When she reached the gates, she stood at the sides with the others so that the army could pass through. The first to enter was, of course, Liu Bei. Following him were the generals and sub-generals that had gone along. Zhuge Liang was up near the front of the line, but she could see no Pang Tong anywhere. Zhuge Liang spotted her and noticed her worried look, so when he managed to catch her eye, he gave her a reassuring smile. Behind the generals came the soldiers, and bringing up the rear were the carriages and carts that those too wounded to either walk or ride a horse were carried in. The horses that belonged to the men that were carried, or who had died if that was the case, were led behind the carts. She could make out a short donkey amongst all the horses, knowing that to be Pang Tong's donkey, Daisy.

'Well, at least he is alive, judging from the smile Liang gave me. But… I wonder how badly injured he is?' thought Ying as the parade of the army went through. After it was all over, everyone just went off in their own directions. She walked over to Zhuge Liang who had just dismounted from his horse.

He nodded to her and said, "Well, I was unable to catch Pang Tong before he did something stupid. Fortunately, he did not get killed; although he is still wounded pretty badly. There is no need to worry about him, though. He is the type of man that does not die easily. We should be able to go see him soon. They are already beginning to move those injured out of the carriages. By the time I take my chest up to my room and unpack, I am sure that he will be back in his own room." Liang nodded to the servant who was carrying his chest for him and started walking off towards the castle doors. Yue Ying decided to go along with him since there wasn't anything else to do, and caught up with him.

"They are going to send him to his room instead of keeping him in the medical center where they can keep a watch on him?" she asked.

"Yes, he is injured pretty badly, as I said before. Still, they will most likely let him stay in his own rooms and just have a nurse to stay and watch him and a doctor to come in every once in awhile to check on him."

"…They are going to have a nurse stay with him? Alone? Is that a good idea?" Zhuge Liang shrugged and continued walking.

x-x-x

After Zhuge Liang had finished unpacking the chest, he and Yue Ying walked over to where Pang Tong's room was. As they got there, one of the doctors had just left it and was beginning to walk in the opposite direction. Liang cleared his throat to get the doctors attention. The man turned around and looked at him.

"Is it alright to go and visit Pang Tong yet?" he asked and the doctor nodded.

"Yes, it is alright to go and visit him. I left one of the nurses in there to watch over him and make sure he did not do anything stupid."

Zhuge Liang nodded in return. "Okay, thank you." The doctor turned back around and continued walking while Liang and Ying entered Pang Tong's room.

"Oh come on! You know you want to!" was the first thing they heard upon entering room. Pang Tong was lying in the bed and holding on to the nurse's arm. The nurse was looking very annoyed and was trying to gently pull her arm out of his grasp so that she would not hurt him. Zhuge Liang raised one of his eyebrows and Yue Ying coughed. Pang Tong looked over at them, still holding onto the nurse's arm.

"Huh? …Hello, guys! Don't you just hate it when you walk into the worst sounding parts of conversations?" He asked and then dropped the arm he was holding. The nurse backed away from him and crossed her arms, still looked slightly peeved.

"…Yes… What _exactly_ was the conversation about before we walked in?"

"I was just asking the nurse to go down to the kitchen and get me some tea, but she didn't want to because she said the doctor told her not to leave me alone. Hey, I guess she can go get me some now, right? You guys are here, so she won't be going against her orders!" He grinned at the nurse, who sighed and walked out of the room, supposedly to go get the tea. "Wait… You guys didn't think I meant something else by that, did you?" he asked after she left.

"Well, when you walk into a room and hear 'Oh, come on! You know you want to!', that is certainly the first thing that comes to mind," said Yue Ying, trying to impersonate Pang Tong when she quoted him. She walked over to a chair near his bed and sat down. Zhuge Liang walked over and stood next to her.

"So, I myself did not hear the entire story of how you got wounded. Would you like to share?" he asked, looking at Pang Tong, who frowned.

"Oh, fine! I'll tell you. It all happened like this…"

x-x-x

"Alright, men. We're here. All that we have to do now is run over that hill and take Luo Castle, am I right?" Pang Tong called out to his soldiers, who answered with a hearty, "Yes!"

"Let's get going then! Charge!" With that, everyone began charging up the hill. Pang Tong was riding Liu Bei's horse, Hex Mark, because his own donkey was not really suited for battle. Archers and other enemies were positioned on top of the hill. One of the enemy generals was also on top of the hill and saw the easily recognizable Hex Mark. Thinking it was Liu Bei and that it was a perfect opportunity to be rid of the Shu leader, he grabbed a bow and an arrow from one of the nearby archers. He aimed carefully to make sure he hit his mark, and then released the arrow. The arrow shot across the field and found it's target just as it had been shot to do. Upon being hit, Pang Tong stopped the horse and turned back around. This was no good. They would all be killed before they made it up there.

"Retreat! We have to get out of here!" he called out to his men. The enemy general, seeing him trying to flee, ordered all of the archers to shoot for him. Out of the who knows how many arrows, luckily, somehow only five managed to hit him. After getting out of the range of the archers and into the safety of some nearby woods, Pang Tong tried to dismount the horse, but ended up falling off instead. One of the arrows had gotten dangerously close to his heart, though it had turned out not to have gotten very deep; another arrow had gotten into his stomach; another into his back; and the last two had gotten into his left leg. A few of his soldiers helped him back onto Hex Mark and led the horse back to the main camp. Once they reached the camp, they found Zhuge Liang, who had just arrived to try and stop Pang Tong from leaving.

x-x-x

"And I think that's all that you need to know about how I got wounded. Now, where is that nurse with my tea?"

"I see. So it was just a few arrows that grazed you then. I thought it was worse than that," said Liang.

"A few arrows! How would you like an arrow in your chest, stomach, back, and two in your leg?" Pang Tong said, outraged. "It might not sound like a lot, but it hurt like hell! Thank goodness they gave me that pain reliever stuff or I would still be groaning in pain."

"Which might have been a good thing… Would have stopped you from talking so much…" muttered Zhuge Liang, his voice so low that only Yue Ying could hear it. She grinned at his comment.

"What was that, Zhuge?" asked Tong.

"Hmm? I did not say anything. Your ears must be playing tricks on you, my _old_ friend," Liang replied, smiling a little.

"What? Did you just call me _old_? I resent that! I am_ not_ old! Just because I'm thirty-two doesn't mean I'm old!"

"To you it may not be old, but to me that is ancient."

"_Ancient!_" sputtered Pang Tong. "I'm only ten years older than you, Zhuge!" At that moment, the nurse walked in carrying a tray that had a teapot and a few teacups on it. "Oh, look! The nurse is back, so you can just leave now, Zhuge!" Liang shrugged and began walking towards the door.

"What about me, Tong?" Yue Ying asked. "Do you want me to leave as well?"

"Ah. It doesn't matter. You can stay if you want, or you can go too. I still have the nurse to keep me company if you do leave." The nurse, who was setting the tray on a table, made a squeaking noise and knocked over one of the teacups.

"What's up with her?" Tong whispered to Ying, who laughed quietly.

"She probably just does not want to be left alone with you. I think I will stay a little longer to make her feel better."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 17 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And that's the end of that chapter. I didn't think it was a very good chapter, but I always say this. I don't know. Whatever. I'll just shut up now.

**zhugeliangsgrl -** Aye matey… Why be I talking like a pirate? Eh. Oh well. Thanks for reviewing!

**Tdino -** Kill off Pang Tong? Never! I could never kill off Tongy… Maybe wound him, but never kill! Heh, anyways, thanks for reviewing!


	19. Chapter 18: Pang Tong's Pranks

Time for yet another chapter. Getting behind in updating most of my fics… Sorry. I seem to have once again lost my inspiration (or Bob, for those of you who know what I'm talking about. Heh.) and now must once again force myself to write, or at least that is the case for most of my fics. Anyway, well… not really a whole lot to say here, so let's get on with it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dynasty Warriors.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 18 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It had now been about three months since the army had returned from taking over Luo Castle. This meant that there was now only about a month or so left until Yue Ying's baby was born. Pang Tong's wounds had healed for the most part and he was back to roaming the castle and playing random pranks on an unsuspecting person he could find. Zhuge Liang was back to making plans for upcoming battles and studying from his books. There still wasn't much for Yue Ying to do, so most of the time she was just walking around the castle or reading occasionally.

One day while she was walking around, she opened up one of the many doors of the castle and was greeted by a bucket of water pouring on top of her head. Looking very annoyed, she turned her head up to look at the bucket and followed the rope that held it with her eyes, knowing that it would lead to the person who had pulled it. Eventually, her eyes found their way down to the prankster, who had been hiding behind a bunch of crates, but had now stepped out from his hiding place.

"Sorry about that," said Pang Tong, probably grinning sheepishly underneath the cloth that covered his face. "I really didn't mean to get you with that."

"I am sure you did not," snorted Yue Ying, who began trying to wring out her drenched hair.

"No, I'm serious! I didn't mean to! I meant to hit one of those annoying maids! She usually comes through that door around this time. I thought she was you, really!" Yue Ying just nodded her head and walked back out of the door, heading now towards her own room to dry off. Pang Tong ran out and followed her, taking off his hat and the cloth so that they wouldn't be blown off in his hurry.

"Wait a minute! Please don't tell Zhuge Liang that I was the one who did that! He'll kill me if he finds out!" he pouted, trying to make her feel sorry for him.

"Oh? And what am I supposed to tell him if he is in the room when I go in? That I fell in the pond? Or in a maid's washing tub while she was washing clothes?"

"Yes! That is exactly what you should tell him! Err… Anyway, so, are you going to tell him about what I did?"

"Only if he asks about it," replied Yue Ying, now starting to walk up the stairs.

"Good enough. He will probably be in the library by this time. Though, with my luck, this one day he will be in his room…" Pang Tong muttered before going back downstairs, most likely to find a way to pull a prank on the maid he had been trying to get before.

Yue Ying reached her room and opened the door. Just as Pang Tong's luck was, Zhuge Liang was sitting at his desk. When he saw her, he stood up, staring at her wet clothes. He looked up at her face with a questioning look in his eyes.

"What happened to you?" he asked, grabbing a towel and walking over to give it to her. She took the towel and began to dry her face off.

"Thank you. It was just a little prank that Pang Tong played…"

"What? He did what? Urg… He shall pay…" Zhuge Liang gritted his teeth. Yue Ying laughed at his anger and held him back as he started towards the door.

"No no! It is okay. He did not mean to do this to me. He was after one of the maids and mistook me for her. He really did not mean anything by it." Zhuge Liang stared at the door for a few more seconds before turning around.

"Fine. Let us get you dried off, then," he said, walking back over to where he had gotten the last towel and grabbed more of them. "But I swear I will kill him if you get sick because of this."

x-x-x

Another two weeks after that incident, Yue Ying and Zhuge Liang were out in the courtyard. Fall had already come and was almost gone, and the weather had now began to turn into the cold Winter. Ying was sitting on one of the benches and watched as Pang Tong ran around the area. He was probably trying to find a way to hook up a new prank somewhere nearby. Apparently, the maid he had been trying to trick had somehow not yet found any of the ones he had put out for her, so he was trying again. Zhuge Liang was pacing up and down the stone pathway, though the reason why was unknown to Yue Ying. He looked a little bit nervous… Perhaps he was once again thinking of the baby? Or, it may have been that he was just thinking about the upcoming battle and the nervousness was just her imagination.

Pang Tong ran by once more, carrying some things which he was hiding underneath his robes. He looked like he was in a hurry to set up whatever it was he had planned.

"I wonder exactly what he is up to? I mean, I know that he is planning a prank, but I wonder what it is…" said Yue Ying as he ran past again to go and find more materials. Zhuge Liang stopped pacing and turned around to watch Pang Tong.

"Who knows? He always comes up with the strangest ideas." He walked over to the bench that Yue Ying was sitting on and sat down himself.

"I do hope he gets that maid soon… Maybe he will stop setting up so many pranks if he did. I have already walked into three of them," commented Yue Ying. Zhuge Liang nodded.

"Yes, and I have already walked into seven of them. He always seems to try and play his tricks in places that I always go to. It is really getting quite annoying." Pang Tong ran by again, although this time he wasn't trying to hide anything. He had come empty handed, and… empty robed, as he had been hiding things under there. He waved at the two as he ran past and continued on down to the pond, which was beginning to freeze a little due to the cold.

"I hope he is not planning to somehow make the maid fall in the pond… It is much too cold for that sort of thing. She could get ill," Yue Ying said as she watched him disappear behind some trees and bushes.

"There is no cause for concern. I am sure that Pang Tong would not try anything like that in this type of weather. He knows he could get in trouble for harming someone due to one of his pranks. He could even get in trouble for them even if he did not harm anyone. All that he would have to do is just pull a prank on the wrong person and he could find himself in a dilemma." As they were talking, a maid walked past them, carrying a pot. She seemed to be going to the pond to fill the pot up with water, if she could find some that was not frozen.

"I am guessing that is the maid that Tong is trying to trick… Or, should I say, that I hope it is the one he is trying to trick," said Liang dryly.

"Yes… Well, I suppose we shall find out soon." Part of the pond was visible from where they were sitting, but the maid disappeared into the part that they could not see. "Darn… Well, perhaps we shall hear soon, then."

"Hmm… This might be interesting. I think I will go down to a bench over there and watch," said Zhuge Liang as he stood up and began walking over in that direction.

"Since when have you been interested in his pranks?" She called out to him. He replied with only a shrug. "Oh well. Nothing else to do around here right now," she muttered and stood up to follow. Both sat down on the bench which allowed them to see the entire pond. From their vantage point, they could even see Pang Tong in his hiding place. He was crouching behind some bushes, watching the maid carefully. The unknowing suspect was still walking a bit away from the bank of the pond. Suddenly, she tripped on something that was in between two large trees. She fell down and dropped the pot, which by some odd luck didn't break. Looking around, she stood up slowly and picked the pot back up.

"Ahh… I see. He put up a wire there for her to trip on. That cannot have been all of it, though. There must be more," noted Liang. He nodded as he saw Pang Tong mess around with a rope while the maid was still turned towards the still unseen wire that she had tripped on. Flying out of one of the trees came what appeared to be a snake, though it was really only just another piece of knotted rope that Tong had cleverly decorated. The "snake" fell down to the ground right behind the maid, who was still looking in the opposite direction. To try and get her to look down at it, he began to make hissing noises, which really didn't sound like a snake at all, but the maid had never heard one before, so it didn't matter. She turned around, looking still at the ground. Ying couldn't see her facial expression since her face was turned, but she was sure that the maid's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and fear. After a few seconds, the maid finally broke out of the shock and screamed, throwing the pot she carried at the "snake" before she ran away as fast as her long dress and sandals could carry her.

Pang Tong, still hiding behind the bushes, was rolling around in uncontrollable laughter. Yue Ying was chuckling a bit from her bench. It really was quite humorous if you thought about it. Zhuge Liang just smiled a bit at it, but you could tell that he found the prank amusing as well. Finally, Pang Tong got control of himself, although he was still laughing a bit. He noticed the two of them sitting on the bench and walked over.

"Hello, guys! Did you see my wonderful trick? I finally got that stupid bit-… I mean, maid. I've been waiting forever to get back at her!"

"What exactly was it that she did to you?" asked Yue Ying. 'It takes a lot for Pang Tong to want revenge on you…' she thought.

Pang Tong shrugged. "She messed up my favorite robe while she was washing it. Somehow she managed to put a giant hole in it."

'Did I say it took a lot for him to want revenge…?' She grinned at the short man, but just then, there was a sudden sharp pain in her stomach and her grin contorted into that of a slight frown.

"Something the matter?" asked Pang Tong, tilting his head to the side. Zhuge Liang turned his head and looked over at her.

Shaking her head, she answered, "No… Nothing is wrong." If the baby was coming now, which was a possibility, it would be best not to worry everyone. Besides, it would probably still be a long time before there was even a need to call the midwife. "Well, I think I shall be going back up to our room," she said, turning to face her husband, who nodded. She stood up and walked back off towards the castle…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 18 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sorry that this chapter was sort of weird. I wanted to get in one more chapter before Ying had her baby, so… I just sort of drew things out with a bunch of random things.

**zhugeliangsgrl -** Alrighty then...! Thanks for reviewing!

**MsSleepingDragon -** Hiya! Thanks for reviewing, yes! Yeah! Yet another Zhuge fan!

**Tdino -** Yup, 'tis good indeedy that I did not kill him off. Hehe. Thanks for reviewing!

**KiBladez -** Hiya! Thanks for reviewing! I don't know when or if you will see this since you only reviewed the first three chapters, so I am unsure if you have gotten this fair. Anyways, to answer the question, nope. I don't have the RoTK television series.


	20. Chapter 19: The Arrival of Zhuge Zhan

Time for yet another chapter. Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. My reason? Just a lack of interest in writing over the past few weeks… But anyways, I got tired of having to say Pang Tong over and over again in parts, so I called Tong " the Phoenix" one time. I had to do say Pang and Zhuge's names so many times because I was afraid it would get confusing if I continuously said "he" over and over. Take no offence to me calling Tong a creature at one point! I was trying to come up with something different to say… Heh. And for calling him short as well… But he is short. You can't argue with that.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dynasty Warriors.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 19 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After Yue Ying had gone back inside the castle, she had gone up to her room, like she had said she would. She was already tired, so she decided to go on to sleep despite the fact that the sun had still not yet completely set. Changing into her nightgown, she got underneath the covers of her bed and sighed. Thinking of how long and tiring the day had been, she quickly fell into the land of dreams.

Not too long after she had fallen asleep, Zhuge Liang came up as well. He had just had some very interesting conversations with Pang Tong, or to be more precise, he had just heard some very interesting things while Pang Tong barraged him with his mindless, not to mention random, talk. Although it was hinted that the conversation was over when he left, Pang Tong still followed Zhuge Liang around no matter where he went. No matter where he went indeed… He ended up following Liang back to his room and followed him inside.

Zhuge Liang, upon seeing the sleeping form of his wife in the bed, was sure that Tong would shut up and leave. However, all that the Phoenix did was lower his voice and continue to whisper whatever it was that he wanted to ramble on about. Still trying the shake off the blabbing creature, Liang decided to go into the next room that belonged to him and Ying.

This just happened to be the bath area that contained the heavily ornate bath made of a polished white stone, the same that practically every general in the army had. He had thought that Tong would leave if he thought the other was going to take a bath, but still the short man persisted to follow. Liang slapped his forehead with his hand before sighing and slumping to the ground in defeat, finally accepting his fate of being tortured by mindless prattle.

Pang Tong finally left, but when he did, Liang did not know. Obviously, he had fallen asleep while listening to Tong, for when he opened his eyes, he was lying on the ground and his vision was blurred by sleep. He stood up slowly, stretching and sighing before exiting the room that contained the bath and reentering the bedroom. He changed into his nightclothes before climbing into the bed beside his wife and falling asleep himself.

x-x-x

Later on that night, Yue Ying woke up, looking around groggily while trying to make her brain, which was still halfway asleep, come up with the reason why she had woken up. That reason finally made itself known to her when there was another sharp pain in her stomach, but this one lasted a little longer than the first one. She sat upright and waited for a little while longer.

After feeling another pain, she decided it would be best if she told Liang about it, so she turned her head to look over at him. The only problem was that he looked like he was sleeping so peacefully… It would be a shame to wake him… If she did wake him, he would surely call for the midwife, and it would probably still be a while before there was anything that could really be done about the baby coming. Everyone would just be waiting around for who knows how long. Yes, it would better to wait a little longer so as to not waste so much of the midwife's time.

An hour or so later, Ying decided that it was time to wake up her husband and tell him. It wasn't that she was really bothered by it yet, though it was a bit annoying to have sharp pains in your stomach coming at intervals. It was more because she was getting bored of waiting and wanted to do something besides stare at a blank wall in the dark. Now, how exactly was it that she was going to tell him about this…? She sat for a few more minutes, trying to think of what to tell him when he woke up. Still, she could come up with nothing.

'Oh well. Guess I will just have to wake him up and come up with something to say on the spot,' Ying thought before lightly tapping Liang once on the shoulder. 'Now why I am I doing that? That will not wake him.' Just as she thought that, he happened to stir a little bit, waking from his sleep once more, and began to sit up. 'Or perhaps it will… I knew he was a light sleeper, but not that light.'

"Hmm… What is it? Did you wake me up?" Liang asked, rubbing one of his eyes with his hand.

"Yes…" answered Ying and she thought, 'Now comes the part where I tell him about the baby… Somehow.'

"Well, what is it?" He has a slight hint of annoyance in his voice as he was tired of waking up from such wonderful sleep, but he tried to keep it in check for he did not want to slight his wife. He watched as she opened her mouth to say whatever it was that she wanted to say, but closed it again when her eyes met his.

'It is easier said than done… Or, should I say, it is easier thought than said,' she thought. "Well, I… umm…" Zhuge Liang raised an eyebrow, patiently waiting for an answer, though that patience was beginning to wear thin. Normally he was a patient man, but not after just waking up and feeling the need to fall back down on his pillow and sleep more.

Yue Ying's mind raced to find the correct way to break the news to him, but something beat her to finding the answer. Another pain came on, but this time it was a little more painful than the others and it had also caught her off guard.

"Mmph." She let out a sound and put one of her arms around her stomach. Liang noticed this and he suddenly became panicked.

"What? Is it the baby? Why did you not tell me earlier!" he grabbed Ying's arms, but she just shrugged a little and gave him a small uncertain smile. He jumped out of the bed and started to run over to the door that led out into the hall, but somehow managed to get a foot caught underneath the rug.

The result of this: Zhuge Liang falling straight on his face. Yue Ying lit the lamp on the nightstand beside her when she heard the commotion. Staring at her fallen husband, she blinked slowly a few times. Liang scrambled back up onto his feet, his nose smarting from the impact of the floor meeting his face, and continued to the door.

Throwing it open, he yelled out into the hallway, "Servant!" Yue Ying sighed. Did he really have to make so much noise? He was going to wake the entire castle… And perhaps even the town that was located outside its gates. One of the servants, who was on duty at night, ran from somewhere down the hall to see what Liang wanted.

"You! Go find the midwife and tell her that my wife is having her baby! And tell her that she had better hurry up as well!" The servant had barely nodded and bowed in response when the door slammed in his face.

"That… was rude," commented Yue Ying, but Liang just started to nervously pace around the room.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Zhuge Liang rushed over to it and opened it to find the midwife and her two assistants. She walked in and looked at Yue Ying, who was still lying quite calmly in her bed. The midwife sighed. From the way the servant had brought the message, she had thought that Ying was much closer to having her child then this. Oh well… She was used to it. Fathers-to-be always were a little skittish when their wives began having contraction, even if they were not very big ones yet.

She waved to her two assistants to begin getting things ready, such as some clean towels. A bowl full of warm water would be needed as well, but it would be best to get that when the patient was closer to having her baby. If gotten now, the water might end up turning cold before the baby was born.

After almost everything that was needed had been gotten, the midwife and the assistants sat down in some nearby chairs to wait until they could actually do anything. They started to idly chat among themselves, and occasionally with Yue Ying to pass the time. All in all, it was actually a pretty peaceful and calm atmosphere; except for the still nervous and panicked Zhuge Liang, who continued to pace about the room.

It was still quite a while before the midwife could actually do anything about the child coming, but the time did finally come. Of course, the explanation of exactly how the child was born will not be given. All that can be said was that it involved a lot of pain for Yue Ying, and for Zhuge Liang as well who ended up blacking out for a few minutes and hitting his head on the floor again. It was a wonder he did not get a concussion from all of this…

Once the child was born, the atmosphere of the room changed into that of happiness. Zhuge Liang and Yue Ying were now the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy. Liang was practically beside himself with excitement; it was another one of those very rare times when he was completely out of his normal personality. Yue Ying felt almost the same as he, but she couldn't really express the emotions in the same way. All she really wanted to do after getting to hold her son for the first time was sleep. Childbirth was a very tiring thing…

x-x-x

The next day, there were quite a lot of people who came to visit the new parents and the newborn child to give their congratulations. A few of the maids in the castle kept on coming and pretended to be cleaning, though they really only came to see and comment to each other on how cute the baby was. Around noon or so, Pang Tong stopped by to see them.

"Aww… Look at the cute widdle baby!" he cooed as he bent over to look at the child, which Yue Ying was holding in her arms. The child spotted the hanging tassels on Tong's hat and reached up to grab one. Managing to catch the end of one in his little hand, he gave it a yank and pulled the hat down on top of him. This obviously frightened the child, who thought that the world was collapsing on him, began to whimper.

"Whoops," Pang Tong grabbed the hat and tossed it over onto a table. "Well, he looks like he'll be a smart one if he already knows how to grab and pull things. So what are you going to name him? I bet you're going to name him after me right?"

"Zhuge Tong? Ha. I should think not," answered Liang, who was sitting in a chair nearby.

"Why not? It's a wonderful name if you think about it! It might not really sound right with that surname, but it's still good."

"There are a few reasons for why I would not want to name my son that."

"Really? And what would those reasons be, Zhuge?"

"Well, for one, it is a _horrible _name. Second, well, I just do not see why I would want to name my child after _you_."

"Oh, that really makes me feel good," Tong said, offended by his "friend's" comment. "What are you going to name him then? You surely don't already have one, or else you would've already told me."

Yue Ying looked over at her husband. "I… never really thought about it before. I do not know of anything to name him…"

Zhuge Liang shrugged. "Same here. I have not really thought about it."

"What? You haven't thought about what to name your child? Did you get so caught up in the excitement that you completely forgot he didn't have a name? You'd better come up with one soon… He can't go nameless his entire life. And he certainly can't be called Baby Zhuge when he's twenty years old. That would scar him for life! Imagine being called Baby all the time…Of course, if it was a woman, I wouldn't really care if she called me that," Tong grinned beneath the cloth that covered his face.

"Are you done with your rambling now?" asked Liang, yawning as he did.

"You make me feel so special, you know that? Fine. I can see that I'm not wanted. I'll be going now. Tell me what you decide to name the kid." Tong stood up, grabbed his hat, and walked out of the door, closing it behind him.

"Hmm… It would really be best to go ahead and give him one so that he can learn it sooner. What should we name him?" Yue Ying asked, looking down at her son, who, now over the fright of having a hat falling on top of him, was beginning to fall asleep. Zhuge Liang rose from his seat and began to slowly pace back and forth again, thinking hard of what to name his son. He needed a good name, not one that was thought of in thirty seconds. After a few minutes of this, he stopped pacing and put his chin in his hand.

"What about Zhan? I think that would be a fine name for him. What do you think?" He turned back around and faced his wife.

"Zhuge Zhan… Yes, that should fit him perfectly. Let us name him that, unless you can think of a better name before we make it official at the ceremony," replied Ying. The ceremony being the one that nearly every newborn boy had; the baby girls usually didn't have one unless they were of high ranking, such as a princess. The ceremony was where everyone of close relations to the newborn got together to celebrate it's birth and it was also where it's name was made official. This ceremony usually took place a week after the birth of the child.

"Alright. I doubt I shall change it, so that shall be his name." Liang walked over to the bed and took the sleeping child from his wife's arms. "My son… Zhuge Zhan…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 19 END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And so ends yet another chapter. Woo! It was _a lot _longer than what I normally write… Sorry. I got past the two thousand mark and couldn't stop myself. Heh.

**zhugeliangsgrl - **Heh, I didn't think it was _that _funny. Anyways, yes… That would be funny to see Zhuge pull a prank… Maybe I should try to add in something like that sometime, hehe. Thanks for reviewing!

**Mrs.SleepingDragon -** Thanks for reviewing!

**Tdino -** Yup yup! As you can see… There is a new little Zhuge running (or at least running sometime in the future) around now. Thanks for reviewing!

**meliemeloe -** Hiya! Yeah, I've seen a lot of fics where Zhuge abused her, too… Only evil people could ever write something like that. Zhuge and Yue is the best pairing that I know of if you compare them to others. Anyways, thanks very much for reviewing!

**CrazyInsanity -** Yup… Back to his old pranks again. See? There I go again with the short replies… I shall now hit myself in the head, and so I do but can't indicate that since I can't use the little star things, heh. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!


	21. Chapter 20: Zhuge Liang's Day Off

Alright… Time for another chapter. Let's see what I can come up with today… Okay, I know they probably used like baskets back then to put babies in, but I was too lazy to change it after I wrote it, so they now used cribs. Hehe…Oh, and I was also too lazy to include breaks in this chapter… You know, the little line of x's and dashes. I hope that won't mess you up. There really aren't many places for breaks in this chapter, though.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dynasty Warriors.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 20 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The next few weeks for the parents were torture. Of course they were happy to have a child, but he kept them up all night with his incessant crying. For some reason, little Zhan insisted on sleeping during the day so he would be awake at night, wanting attention or food or a dry diaper, which consisted of only a few layers of cloth wrapped and pinned around him.

This did not really bother Ying as much as it did Liang. She had still not yet returned to her normal duties in the army, so she could sleep some during the day. Liang, however, was busy with his studying, planning, and meetings. His lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll. No matter how hard he tried not to, he would often fall asleep at his desk and he even fell asleep twice at his meetings with Liu Bei and the other generals. When he tried to work on his plans, he found that he couldn't think clearly and what work he got done was sloppy.

Finally, he decided to do something he had never done since he had joined Shu: he took a day off. Not even the day after Zhan had been born did he take off. He might not have done as much work as he normally did, but he had still worked some.

The night before his day off, both him and Ying stayed up the majority of the night, once again due to their son's crying. Upon the rising of the sun, the shadows of the night vanished from the room and Zhan finally decided to sleep. His parents did so as well, relieved to get some sleep themselves.

Since she had more sleep than Liang lately, Ying wasn't as tired as he. She only slept for about three hours before getting up. She quietly changed out of her nightclothes and gently picked up Zhan, so as to not disturb him. She walked out of the room, heading towards the courtyard to make sure that Liang would not be woken if Zhan began to cry again.

It was quite peaceful outside. Spring had started popping up and the temperature was mild. The birds were chirruping and flitting around happily. Ying was sitting on one of the benches, Zhan still sleeping in her lap. There were no other generals out, only the occasional maid or servant passing by.

To pass the time, she watched the pond, which was visible from where she sat, and the fish, who would often jump out of the water and create a series of ripples when they came back down. The peacefulness was broken by a sudden loud yell. Ying looked over in the direction that the yell had come from and saw Pang Tong coming around the corner of the castle. He was running as fast as his legs would carry him, obviously trying to escape from something. That something came soon behind him. Holding up her long skirts came a maid, the same one he had tricked with that fake snake.

"Get back here, you scum!" the maid practically screamed, close behind her prey.

"What? I beg you madam, stop chasing me!" Pang Tong called back, seemingly frightened by the small, ferocious woman. Lucky for him, he was a tad faster than she. What was not lucky for him was that he tripped over his own feet and fell over. The maid was on him in a flash; kicking, hitting, slapping, and screaming.

Yue Ying watched, confused by what was happening, but still amused by the show. Zhuge Liang, who had woken up and gone in search for his wife and son, came in the opposite direction of the fight. He stopped for a minute, watching the odd scene before spotting Ying, who was still engrossed in the battle between a maid and a strategist. He walked over and sat down beside her.

"Just what I have always wanted to see… Pang Tong being beat up by a girl," he commented. "Do you know why that happened…? What did he do this time?"

"I do not know…" Ying answered, taking her attention off of the fight and looking down at Zhan who, despite all the noise, was still sleeping.

"Someone help me!" Pang Tong cried in mock pain as he cowered on the ground. He could have easily taken care of the maid and gotten her off of him, but he had his honor code and he would not harm a woman, or at least an unarmed one. The punches and kicks didn't hurt him much, but he still pretended to be helpless and in extreme pain just for the fun of it.

"How do you like _that_?" the maid said triumphantly and gave him a last kick to the stomach before walking away in a lofty manner. Pang Tong stood up and readjusted his hat, now unruffled by the attack. Seeing Yue Ying and Zhuge Liang, he walked over to them.

"What was that about?" asked Liang, who had taken Zhan from Ying and was rocking him.

Pang Tong shrugged. "Well, let's just say that after the incident with the "snake", I've managed to pull a few more pranks on her. She just… got a little mad."

"No kidding…" muttered Ying under her breath.

"Anyways, what are you going to do on your day off?" Pang Tong asked Liang, trying to get a conversation going.

"Hmm… I suppose I will just spend some time with my wife and son," answered Liang. He put an arm around Ying and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"My eyes! My eyes! They burn! They burn! Ahhh!" Pang Tong fell down to the ground, pretending to claw at his face. Liang rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Come on, Ying. Let us go somewhere else… Somewhere _without_ Pang Tong."

"Once again, you make me feel so special! You know, I could just keep on following you around. I've done it before and I can do it again!" Tong removed the cloth around his mouth for a second so he could stick his tongue out.

"Not if we go to our room and lock the door!" Zhuge Liang stated. Yue Ying laughed and walked off towards the castle with her husband following. Pang Tong ran after them.

"I can still get in if you lock the door! Ever heard of a window?"

"The window?" Liang snorted and turned around to face Tong. "The window is five stories off the ground! Do you seriously think that you can climb up to it?"

"Of course! I just need to remember that it's all for a good cause! If I wasn't there to annoy you, who would?"

"Our official annoyer! We are so lucky, my husband! Do you know of anyone else who has their own personal annoyer?" Yue Ying asked, smiling at Tong.

"Indeed not, my dear. It is quite a rare thing to find! In this day and age it is hard to find someone who is so skilled as our friend here in that profession!" exclaimed Liang and then added, "Though, despite its rareness, I find it better to _not _have one." He and Ying turned back around, briskly walking towards the castle once more to try and escape.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Pang Tong yelled after them. "I swear I will find a way to get into your room if you lock it!" At this Liang turned back around, a smile playing on his lips. He knew he probably shouldn't say this, but he just couldn't help it. It was too good not to.

"Oh, but it is best to not pry into what is going on behind locked doors… Who knows what is happening in there?" He looked over at Ying, who got what he was suggesting and blushed a little bit before chastising him.

"Zhuge Liang! There is no need to say something like that! Who knows who may be listening in? What has gotten into you today? You usually don't make such… comments." Pang Tong started laughing, hard. He clutched his sides and fell over.

Somehow he managed to get out, "He-he… The great strategist… ha-ha… is getting… he-he… chewed out by his wife! Ha-ha-ha!" Zhuge Liang only smiled and gave a small shrug, for he was still carrying Zhan and couldn't move too much. How the child was still asleep was a mystery.

"Every man needs a woman to keep him in line. That is why I suggest you go find one, Tong," he responded and then turned back to Ying. "I apologize, my wife. I just could not help it. This short period of time where I need not worry about anything has taken quite a lot of stress off of me and has put me in a very cheerful mood."

Yue Ying sighed and shook her head a little. "Whatever you say… Let us go back now. I am sure that you would like to put little Zhan down now…"

As they turned and headed towards the castle for the third time, Liang answered, "Oh no… I really do not mind it. I actually like holding him. With all my work, I probably will not have much time to be with him in the future, so I must take my advantage now…"

Upon reaching their room, Zhuge Liang placed Zhan in his crib and locked the door to the hall so that Pang Tong could not get in.

"So you are actually locking the door? I thought you were just kidding with Tong…"

"Kidding? I never kid around with him. Everything I say to him I mean." Liang walked back over to the crib and watched his son as he slept. Yue Ying walked over and joined him, wrapping her arms around one of his and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I still cannot believe that we made him…" Zhuge Liang said softy, taking his free hand and touching one of Zhan's small hands.

"Neither can I…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER 20 START

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

meliemeloe - Yup. Hehe… I have a tendency of going overboard with the length when I write sometimes. I'll try to update more. Summer break is coming up soon, so I'll most likely have a ton of time then. I'll also try to work on Veiled Emotions some more too. I'll start working on it soon after I have posted this chapter. Oh, and I posted the other story you asked me to, if you haven't seen it… But anyways, thanks for reviewing!

Tdino - Yup yup! Of course he cares about his wife! Hehe… Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

zhugeliangsgrl - Hehe… Glad you think it's funny :p. Thanks for reviewing!

CrazyInsanity - Heh. Actually, the more I thought about it the more I liked the name for some reason :p. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

Mrs.SleepingDragon - Yup yup… Well… That is… odd…. But anyways… Yes! Zhuge and Yue are the best pairing other! There is no who can even come close to them! Except… maybe Cao Pi and Zhen Ji, but that's just my opinion :p. Thanks for reviewing!


End file.
